CVE-2017-2609 in Jenkins
Summary
by MITRE
jenkins before versions 2.44, 2.32.2 is vulnerable to an information disclosure vulnerability in search suggestions (SECURITY-385). The autocomplete feature on the search box discloses the names of the views in its suggestions, including the ones for which the current user does not have access to.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/14/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-2609 represents a critical information disclosure flaw in Jenkins continuous integration platform affecting versions prior to 2.44 and 2.32.2. This security issue stems from the search suggestions functionality within Jenkins' user interface, specifically impacting the autocomplete feature that operates on the search box. The flaw allows unauthorized information disclosure by revealing view names in search suggestions without proper access controls, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on Jenkins for their build and deployment processes.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the search autocomplete functionality that fails to properly validate user permissions before exposing view names in the suggestions list. When users interact with the search box, the system returns autocomplete suggestions that include all available views in the Jenkins instance regardless of the current user's access rights or authorization levels. This behavior violates fundamental security principles of least privilege and access control enforcement, as the system should only disclose information that the authenticated user has legitimate access to. The flaw operates at the application layer and affects the web interface component of Jenkins, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited through standard user interactions without requiring elevated privileges or specialized attack tools.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, creating potential pathways for further exploitation and reconnaissance activities. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to discover the structure and organization of Jenkins instances, including identifying sensitive views, build configurations, and potentially uncovering the existence of restricted projects or environments. This information disclosure can facilitate more sophisticated attacks such as privilege escalation attempts, targeted exploitation of specific build jobs, or social engineering campaigns that exploit knowledge of the Jenkins infrastructure. The vulnerability directly impacts the principle of information hiding and can enable attackers to map the entire Jenkins environment, potentially exposing secrets, credentials, or sensitive project information that should remain confidential.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including upgrading to Jenkins versions 2.44 or 2.32.2 where this vulnerability has been addressed through proper access control enforcement in the search suggestions feature. The fix typically involves implementing proper authorization checks before returning search suggestions, ensuring that only views accessible to the current user are displayed in autocomplete results. System administrators should also consider implementing additional security controls such as restricting access to Jenkins through firewalls, implementing stronger authentication mechanisms, and conducting regular security audits of Jenkins configurations. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which addresses information disclosure vulnerabilities, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege that is fundamental to secure system design and is often categorized under ATT&CK technique T1087 for account discovery and T1566 for credential access through reconnaissance activities.