CVE-2022-27215 in Release Helper Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 03/15/2022
A missing permission check in Jenkins Release Helper Plugin 1.3.3 and earlier allows attackers with Overall/Read permission to connect to an attacker-specified URL using attacker-specified credentials.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/18/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-27215 resides within the Jenkins Release Helper Plugin version 1.3.3 and earlier, representing a critical authorization bypass flaw that undermines the security model of Jenkins-based CI/CD environments. This issue stems from a missing permission check that allows unprivileged users to perform unauthorized network operations against arbitrary endpoints, effectively creating a pathway for attackers to exploit the system's trust relationships and potentially escalate their access within the infrastructure.
The technical flaw manifests as an insufficient validation mechanism within the plugin's code that fails to verify whether the authenticated user possesses appropriate privileges before executing network requests to external URLs. This oversight enables an attacker with merely Overall/Read permission to initiate connections to any specified endpoint using credentials provided by the attacker, bypassing the normal permission boundaries that should restrict such operations. The vulnerability specifically affects the plugin's ability to validate user permissions during network communication operations, creating a direct attack vector that can be exploited without requiring elevated privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized network access, as it can enable attackers to perform reconnaissance activities, exfiltrate sensitive data, or potentially manipulate external systems that the Jenkins instance can communicate with. An attacker could leverage this flaw to probe internal network resources, access external services that the Jenkins server has legitimate access to, or even attempt to pivot into other systems within the network perimeter. The vulnerability particularly threatens environments where Jenkins servers operate with broad network access or where the release helper plugin is configured to communicate with internal services that may contain sensitive information or critical infrastructure components.
Organizations utilizing Jenkins Release Helper Plugin versions prior to 1.3.4 should immediately implement mitigations to protect their CI/CD pipelines from potential exploitation. The primary recommended action involves upgrading to the patched version of the plugin that includes proper permission validation mechanisms. Additionally, administrators should review and tighten the overall permission model within Jenkins, ensuring that users with Overall/Read access cannot perform operations that involve network communication with external endpoints. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-693, which addresses protection mechanism failures, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for valid accounts and T1046 for network service scanning, demonstrating the multi-faceted nature of the threat landscape this vulnerability exposes within continuous integration environments. The incident highlights the critical importance of proper input validation and permission checking in plugin architectures, particularly within security-sensitive contexts where CI/CD systems serve as gateways to production environments and sensitive infrastructure components.