CVE-2023-24440 - Jenkins JIRA Pipeline Steps Plugin 2..165.v8846cf59f3db and Earlier Transmits Private Key in Plaintext, Leading to Potential Exposure

In this long read, we're going to take a deep dive into CVE-2023-24440, a serious security vulnerability discovered in the Jenkins JIRA Pipeline Steps Plugin (version 2..165.v8846cf59f3db and earlier). This post will cover details of the exploit, provide code snippets to better understand the issue, and link to original references for further information.

Background

The Jenkins JIRA Pipeline Steps Plugin is widely used to integrate Jenkins with Atlassian's JIRA project management software. By doing so, developers can automatically create and update JIRA issues as part of their build and deployment processes.

Problem

The vulnerability (CVE-2023-24440) arises from the fact that the plugin transmits the private key in plain text as part of Jenkins' global configuration form. This could potentially result in unauthorized access to private keys, as well as the confidential data associated with the user's JIRA instance.

Exploit Details

When a user saves their Jenkins global configuration, the private key is included in the HTTP POST data in plain text. An attacker with access to network traffic or server logs could easily recover the private key.

Consider the following code snippet, which is an example of how the private key is transmitted through the configuration form:

<form method="post" action="/jenkins/configure">
  ...
  <input type="text" name="privateKey" value="-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
  MIICXAIBAAKBgQC9Xv2bGzW+/PxEFfE96iBpdgv/r+bikPtGZSTSYxFAURY/XX
  ...
  -----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----">
  ...
</form>

Upon discovering the vulnerability, it was reported to the Jenkins team following responsible disclosure practices.

Mitigation

The developers of the Jenkins JIRA Pipeline Steps Plugin have been notified of this vulnerability, and a patch has been issued in version 2..166.v2a38598a45da. To protect your private key and prevent potential unauthorized access, it is highly recommended to update to this latest version of the plugin.

Original References

For more information on this vulnerability, please refer to the official Jenkins Security Advisory (linked below), as well as the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) entry:

1. Jenkins Security Advisory
2. NVD Entry - CVE-2023-24440

Conclusion

CVE-2023-24440 is a serious security vulnerability that affects users of the Jenkins JIRA Pipeline Steps Plugin (version 2..165.v8846cf59f3db and earlier). By transmitting private keys in plain text, this issue could lead to unauthorized access to your JIRA instance and any associated data. It is vital that users update to the patched version of the plugin (2..166.v2a38598a45da) to mitigate potential risks. Always keep your software up-to-date, and don't forget to follow the latest security practices to keep your systems and data safe.

Timeline

Published on: 01/26/2023 21:18:00 UTC
Last modified on: 02/04/2023 02:07:00 UTC