CVE-2020-2197 in Project Inheritance Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
Jenkins Project Inheritance Plugin 19.08.02 and earlier does not require users to have Job/ExtendedRead permission to access Inheritance Project job configurations in XML format.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/04/2020
The vulnerability described in CVE-2020-2197 affects the Jenkins Project Inheritance Plugin version 19.08.02 and earlier, representing a critical access control flaw that undermines the security model of Jenkins continuous integration and delivery platform. This issue stems from insufficient permission validation mechanisms within the plugin's implementation, specifically concerning how it handles XML configuration access for inheritance projects. The flaw exists in the plugin's design where it fails to properly enforce authorization checks before allowing users to retrieve job configuration data in XML format, creating a potential pathway for unauthorized information disclosure.
The technical nature of this vulnerability can be categorized under CWE-284, which represents improper access control, and more specifically aligns with CWE-285, improper authorization, as the plugin does not properly validate user permissions before granting access to sensitive configuration data. The flaw manifests when users without proper Job/ExtendedRead permissions can still access XML representations of inheritance project configurations, effectively bypassing the intended security boundaries that should restrict such access to authorized personnel only. This misconfiguration allows for information disclosure attacks where unauthorized individuals could obtain detailed job configurations, build scripts, and potentially sensitive environment variables or credential references that might be embedded within the XML structure.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations relying on Jenkins for their automation infrastructure, as it enables attackers to gather intelligence about the CI/CD pipeline structure and potentially identify other security weaknesses within the system. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure, as the XML configuration files may contain sensitive data such as build parameters, environment settings, and potentially hardcoded credentials or API keys that could be exploited in subsequent attacks. Attackers could leverage this access to understand the build process architecture, identify vulnerable components, and plan more sophisticated attacks against the Jenkins environment or underlying systems.
The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal privileges and can be executed by any user with basic access to the Jenkins instance, making it particularly dangerous in environments where access controls are not properly enforced or where users have been granted broader permissions than necessary. Organizations implementing Jenkins should consider this vulnerability as part of a broader security posture assessment, particularly in environments where Jenkins serves as a critical component in software delivery pipelines and where unauthorized access to build configurations could compromise entire development workflows. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this issue under T1068, 'Exploitation for Privilege Escalation', as unauthorized access to configuration data can provide attackers with insights needed to escalate their privileges or conduct more targeted attacks against the system.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate plugin version updates to 19.08.03 or later, which contain the necessary permission validation fixes. Organizations should also implement principle of least privilege access controls, ensuring that users only receive the minimum permissions necessary for their roles. Additional protective measures include monitoring access logs for unusual patterns of XML configuration requests, implementing network segmentation to limit access to Jenkins instances, and conducting regular security audits of Jenkins configurations to identify and remediate similar authorization issues. The vulnerability underscores the importance of proper permission validation in plugin architectures and highlights the critical need for continuous security assessment of third-party components in enterprise automation platforms.