CVE-2022-23111 in Publish Over SSH Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 01/12/2022
A cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Jenkins Publish Over SSH Plugin 1.22 and earlier allows attackers to connect to an attacker-specified SSH server using attacker-specified credentials.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/16/2022
The CVE-2022-23111 represents a critical cross-site request forgery vulnerability within the Jenkins Publish Over SSH Plugin version 1.22 and earlier. This vulnerability exists in the authentication and connection handling mechanisms of the plugin, which is commonly used by organizations to automate deployment processes through secure shell connections. The flaw specifically affects systems where Jenkins is configured to allow remote execution of build steps that interact with SSH servers, making it particularly dangerous in continuous integration and deployment environments.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of the source of SSH connection requests within the plugin's web interface. When administrators configure SSH connections through the Jenkins UI, the plugin accepts parameters that specify both the target SSH server address and the credentials to be used for authentication. An attacker who can manipulate these parameters through a CSRF attack can force the Jenkins server to establish connections to arbitrary SSH servers with attacker-controlled credentials. This occurs because the plugin fails to implement proper anti-CSRF tokens or other validation mechanisms to ensure that SSH connection requests originate from legitimate administrative actions within the Jenkins interface.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized SSH access, as it can enable attackers to gain persistent access to target systems and potentially escalate privileges within the deployment environment. Organizations using Jenkins for automated deployments may find their build servers compromised, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary commands on target systems, modify deployment configurations, or even establish backdoors for future access. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it can be exploited without requiring authentication to the Jenkins server itself, making it accessible to attackers who have only basic web application access. This represents a significant risk to DevOps environments where Jenkins servers often have elevated privileges and access to production systems.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-23111 should focus on immediate plugin updates to version 1.23 or later, which contains the necessary CSRF protection mechanisms. Organizations should also implement additional security controls such as restricting Jenkins administrative access to trusted networks, implementing proper input validation for all plugin parameters, and ensuring that Jenkins instances are properly hardened through configuration management practices. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery flaws, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for legitimate credentials usage, as attackers can leverage the compromised Jenkins server to authenticate with target systems using stolen or attacker-controlled credentials. Network segmentation and monitoring for unusual SSH connection patterns can also help detect exploitation attempts, while regular security assessments of Jenkins plugins can prevent similar vulnerabilities from remaining undetected in the environment.