CVE-2020-2285 in Liquibase Runner Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
A missing permission check in Jenkins Liquibase Runner Plugin 1.4.7 and earlier allows attackers with Overall/Read permission to enumerate credentials IDs of credentials stored in Jenkins.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/23/2020
The vulnerability described in CVE-2020-2285 represents a critical authorization bypass issue within the Jenkins Liquibase Runner Plugin, specifically affecting versions 1.4.7 and earlier. This flaw manifests as a missing permission check that allows unauthenticated attackers or users with minimal privileges to exploit the system's credential enumeration capabilities. The vulnerability resides in the plugin's failure to properly validate user permissions before exposing sensitive credential information, creating a pathway for adversaries to discover and potentially abuse stored credentials within the Jenkins environment.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate access control mechanisms within the Liquibase Runner Plugin's credential handling logic. When users with only Overall/Read permission attempt to interact with the plugin's credential management features, the system fails to verify whether the requesting user has sufficient authorization to access credential identifiers. This missing validation creates a direct information disclosure channel where attackers can systematically enumerate credential IDs without proper authentication or elevated privileges. The flaw operates at the application layer and directly violates fundamental security principles of least privilege and proper access control enforcement.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability significantly weakens the security posture of Jenkins environments by enabling credential enumeration attacks that can lead to further compromise. Attackers who discover credential IDs can then attempt brute force attacks, credential reuse attacks, or combine this information with other vulnerabilities to escalate their privileges within the Jenkins infrastructure. The exposure of credential identifiers provides attackers with valuable intelligence for crafting targeted attacks against specific Jenkins jobs, build servers, or integration points that rely on these credentials. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations that store sensitive credentials within Jenkins and rely on the plugin for database migration operations.
The security implications extend beyond immediate credential exposure to encompass broader system compromise potential. According to CWE-284, this vulnerability represents an improper access control issue that allows unauthorized access to resources, while the ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a credential access technique that enables adversaries to gather information about valid accounts and credentials. Organizations using Jenkins with the affected plugin version face increased risk of supply chain attacks, insider threats, or external exploitation attempts that leverage the exposed credential information. The vulnerability's impact is amplified in environments where Jenkins serves as a central automation hub for deployment pipelines, build processes, and integration points that depend on stored credentials for system functionality.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2020-2285 primarily focus on immediate remediation through plugin version updates to 1.4.8 or later, which contain the necessary permission checks to prevent unauthorized credential enumeration. Organizations should also implement additional security controls including regular plugin audits, access control reviews, and network segmentation to limit exposure. The Jenkins security team recommends enabling proper user permissions and role-based access controls to ensure that only authorized personnel can access credential management features. Additionally, organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments of their Jenkins environments to identify similar permission bypass vulnerabilities in other plugins or system components, as this type of flaw often indicates broader architectural security weaknesses that require systematic remediation approaches.