CVE-2023-43500 in Build Failure Analyzer Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 09/20/2023
A cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Jenkins Build Failure Analyzer Plugin 2.4.1 and earlier allows attackers to connect to an attacker-specified hostname and port using attacker-specified username and password.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/13/2023
The cross-site request forgery vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-43500 affects the Jenkins Build Failure Analyzer Plugin version 2.4.1 and earlier, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of web-based authentication mechanisms within Jenkins environments. This vulnerability resides in the plugin's handling of user authentication requests, specifically allowing unauthorized manipulation of connection parameters through crafted web requests. The flaw enables attackers to establish connections to arbitrary hostnames and ports using specified credentials, effectively bypassing the normal authentication flow that should protect Jenkins from unauthorized access attempts.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of request origins and lack of proper anti-CSRF token mechanisms within the plugin's web interfaces. When users interact with the Build Failure Analyzer plugin, the system fails to properly verify that requests originate from legitimate sources within the Jenkins environment. This absence of origin validation creates an opening for attackers to craft malicious requests that appear to come from authenticated users, thereby enabling unauthorized network connections. The vulnerability manifests when the plugin processes connection parameters without adequate verification of user intent or authorization context, allowing attackers to specify arbitrary hostnames and ports while providing their own credentials for authentication purposes.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to encompass potential network reconnaissance and lateral movement capabilities within affected Jenkins environments. Attackers can leverage this flaw to probe internal network resources, potentially discovering additional vulnerable systems or services that may not be directly exposed to external networks. The ability to specify arbitrary hostnames and ports allows for targeted attacks against internal services that might otherwise be protected by network segmentation. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely on Jenkins for continuous integration and deployment workflows, where the build failure analyzer plugin is commonly used to monitor and report on build statuses across various systems and services.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-43500 should prioritize immediate plugin version updates to 2.4.2 or later, which contain the necessary patches to address the CSRF vulnerability. Organizations should also implement additional security measures including network segmentation to limit access to Jenkins servers, proper firewall rules to restrict external access to Jenkins ports, and regular security auditing of installed plugins to identify outdated components. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses, and represents a critical concern within the ATT&CK framework under the privilege escalation and defense evasion techniques. Administrators should also consider implementing web application firewalls to monitor and filter suspicious requests, while ensuring that all Jenkins instances maintain up-to-date security configurations and that users employ strong authentication mechanisms including multi-factor authentication to reduce the overall risk surface.