Summary
Missing permission check in Jenkins Project Inheritance Plugin
Jenkins limits access to job configuration XML data (config.xml) to users with Job/ExtendedRead permission, typically implied by Job/Configure permission. Project Inheritance Plugin has several job inspection features, including the API URL /job/…/getConfigAsXML for its Inheritance Project job type that does something similar.
Project Inheritance Plugin 21.04.03 and earlier does not check permissions for this new endpoint, granting access to job configuration XML data to every user with Job/Read permission.
Additionally, the encrypted values of secrets stored in the job configuration are not redacted, as they would be by the config.xml API for users without Job/Configure permission.
Impact
CVE-2020-2197 has a CVSS score of 4.3 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. No fixed version is listed yet, so configuration controls and monitoring matter more in the interim.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2020-2197? CVE-2020-2197 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in hudson.plugins:project-inheritance (maven), affecting versions <= 21.04.03. No fixed version is listed yet.
- How severe is CVE-2020-2197? CVE-2020-2197 has a CVSS score of 4.3 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of hudson.plugins:project-inheritance are affected by CVE-2020-2197? hudson.plugins:project-inheritance (maven) versions <= 21.04.03 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2020-2197? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2020-2197 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2020-2197 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2020-2197 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2020-2197 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.