CVE-2023-43502 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 delete Failure Causes.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/13/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-43502 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the Jenkins Build Failure Analyzer Plugin version 2.4.1 and earlier. This issue exposes Jenkins environments to unauthorized actions that can significantly impact build integrity and system security. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of user requests, allowing malicious actors to exploit the plugin's functionality without proper authentication or authorization. The specific impact involves the ability to delete Failure Causes within the build analysis system, which fundamentally compromises the integrity of build failure data and analysis capabilities.
Cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities typically occur when web applications fail to properly validate the origin of requests, particularly those that modify application state or data. In this case, the Jenkins plugin lacks adequate anti-CSRF token implementation or request origin verification mechanisms. Attackers can craft malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate users within the Jenkins environment, exploiting the trust relationship between the web application and authenticated users. The vulnerability specifically targets the deletion functionality of Failure Causes, which are essential components for tracking and analyzing build failures within continuous integration pipelines.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data deletion, as it undermines the reliability of build failure analysis systems that organizations depend upon for software quality assurance. When Failure Causes are deleted, teams lose critical historical data about build failures, making it difficult to identify recurring issues, track root causes, and maintain proper software development practices. This disruption directly affects continuous integration workflows and can lead to increased debugging time, reduced development efficiency, and potential security implications if build failures are masked or removed. The vulnerability also poses risks to compliance requirements that mandate audit trails of build processes and failure analysis activities.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to the patched version of the Jenkins Build Failure Analyzer Plugin, which addresses the CSRF validation gap through proper token implementation and request verification mechanisms. Security teams should also consider implementing additional protective measures such as network-level access controls, monitoring for unauthorized deletion activities, and regular security assessments of Jenkins plugins. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and data manipulation, potentially enabling adversaries to disrupt development processes and compromise software quality assurance practices. Organizations should also review their plugin management policies and implement automated scanning for vulnerable components to prevent similar issues in other Jenkins plugins and integrated systems.