CVE-2020-2155 in OpenShift Deployer Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
Jenkins OpenShift Deployer Plugin 1.2.0 and earlier transmits configured credentials in plain text as part of its global Jenkins configuration form, potentially resulting in their exposure.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/10/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-2155 affects the Jenkins OpenShift Deployer Plugin version 1.2.0 and earlier, representing a critical security flaw in how authentication credentials are handled within the Jenkins continuous integration and delivery platform. This issue stems from the plugin's improper configuration handling mechanism that fails to encrypt or obfuscate sensitive credential information when stored in Jenkins' global configuration system. The vulnerability specifically impacts organizations that utilize Jenkins for automated deployment processes to OpenShift container platforms, where secure credential management is paramount for maintaining system integrity and preventing unauthorized access to production environments.
The technical implementation flaw resides in the plugin's configuration form processing where user-provided credentials are transmitted and stored without adequate encryption or security measures. When administrators configure the plugin settings through Jenkins' web interface, the credentials become part of the configuration data that is saved in plain text format within Jenkins' configuration files or database storage. This design decision violates fundamental security principles for credential handling and creates an attack surface where unauthorized individuals with access to Jenkins configuration data or system files can directly extract these credentials. The vulnerability falls under the CWE-312 category of "Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information" and represents a direct violation of security best practices outlined in NIST SP 800-57 for cryptographic key management and secure credential storage.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential exposure, creating cascading security risks for organizations relying on Jenkins for deployment automation. Attackers who gain access to Jenkins configuration data can immediately leverage these exposed credentials to access OpenShift clusters, potentially leading to unauthorized code deployments, data exfiltration, or complete system compromise. The vulnerability affects the principle of least privilege by allowing unauthorized access to production environments through stolen credentials, while also violating the confidentiality and integrity aspects of the CIA triad. This exposure can enable attackers to perform privilege escalation attacks, modify deployment pipelines, or gain persistent access to containerized environments, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with DevOps practices that heavily depend on automated deployment workflows.
Organizations should immediately implement several mitigation strategies to address this vulnerability while planning for a comprehensive security review of their Jenkins infrastructure. The most critical immediate action involves upgrading to a patched version of the OpenShift Deployer Plugin that properly encrypts credentials during storage and transmission. System administrators should also implement network-level security controls including firewall rules that restrict access to Jenkins instances and ensure that only authorized personnel can access the configuration interfaces. Additional mitigations include implementing Jenkins security features such as role-based access control, enabling secure communication protocols with proper certificate validation, and conducting regular security audits of Jenkins configurations to identify similar credential storage vulnerabilities. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1552 "Unsecured Credentials" and T1078 "Valid Accounts" as it enables attackers to leverage stolen credentials for unauthorized access, making it essential for organizations to implement comprehensive credential management policies and monitoring systems to detect potential exploitation attempts.