CVE-2023-33005 in WSO2 Oauth Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 05/16/2023
Jenkins WSO2 Oauth Plugin 1.0 and earlier does not invalidate the previous session on login.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/23/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-33005 affects the Jenkins WSO2 OAuth Plugin version 1.0 and earlier, presenting a critical session management flaw that directly impacts authentication security. This issue resides within the plugin's handling of user authentication flows where the system fails to properly terminate existing sessions when new authentication occurs, creating a persistent security weakness that can be exploited by malicious actors. The vulnerability specifically targets the session invalidation mechanism during the login process, which is a fundamental aspect of secure authentication protocols.
The technical flaw manifests as a failure in session lifecycle management where the plugin does not properly invalidate previous session tokens or identifiers when a user successfully authenticates. This creates a scenario where multiple concurrent sessions can exist for the same user account, with the old session remaining active even after the user has logged in with new credentials. The root cause lies in the plugin's implementation of the OAuth authentication flow where session cleanup routines are either absent or improperly executed, allowing session hijacking and unauthorized access to remain possible. This behavior violates standard security practices for session management and creates a window of opportunity for attackers to exploit active sessions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables several attack vectors including session hijacking, privilege escalation, and unauthorized access to Jenkins environments. An attacker who gains access to a valid session token can maintain persistent access even after legitimate users have logged in with new credentials, effectively bypassing the intended authentication controls. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely on Jenkins for continuous integration and deployment processes, where unauthorized access could lead to code injection, data breaches, or compromise of the entire CI/CD pipeline. The risk is amplified in environments where Jenkins is used for sensitive operations or contains privileged access to production systems.
Organizations should immediately upgrade to a patched version of the Jenkins WSO2 OAuth Plugin to address this vulnerability, as no effective workarounds exist for this specific session management flaw. The mitigation strategy should include comprehensive monitoring of authentication events and session activity to detect potential exploitation attempts. Security teams must also implement additional controls such as session timeout mechanisms, regular session cleanup procedures, and enhanced logging of authentication activities. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-613, which addresses Insufficient Session Expiration, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege in authentication systems. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1566 (Phishing) and T1078 (Valid Accounts) as attackers could leverage persistent sessions to maintain access, while also supporting T1531 (Account Access Removal) through the exploitation of session management weaknesses.