Summary
Rundeck's Key Storage converter plugin mechanism's encryption layer not working in 4.2.0, 4.2.1, 4.3.0
Workarounds
To prevent plaintext credentials from being stored in Rundeck 4.2.0/4.2.1, write access to key storage can be disabled via ACLs. After upgrading to 4.3.1 or later, write access can be restored.
This aclpolicy document can be used to deny all write access to storage:
---
by:
group: '.*'
context:
application: rundeck
for:
storage:
- deny:
- create
- update
description: deny create or update for storage in application context
---
by:
group: '.*'
context:
project: .*
for:
storage:
- deny:
- create
- update
description: deny create or update for storage in project context
To remove plaintext credentials, the metadata of stored keys can be used to detect if the key was stored with encryption enabled or not. In the case of the “jasypt-encryption” plugin, encrypted values will have a metadata field of “jasypt-encryption:encrypted”:”true” in the JSON metadata. If you are using the relational database as your key storage backend (rundeck.storage.provider.1.type=db), you can query for keys that are unencrypted. Here is an example query for Mysql:
select id,dir,name from storage where json_data not like "%jasypt-encryption:encrypted\":\"true%" and namespace is null and dir like "keys%"
References
Configuration Settings for Storage Converters: https://docs.rundeck.com/docs/administration/configuration/plugins/configuring.html#storage-converter-plugins
About Storage Converters:
https://docs.rundeck.com/docs/manual/key-storage/key-storage.html#key-data-storage-converter
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in our forums
- Enterprise Customers can open a Support ticket
Impact
The Key Storage converter plugin mechanism was not enabled correctly in Rundeck 4.2.0 and 4.2.1, resulting in use of the encryption layer for Key Storage possibly not working. Any credentials created or overwritten using Rundeck 4.2.0 or 4.2.1 might result in them being written in plaintext to the backend storage.
If you are using a "Storage Converter" plugin, such as jasypt-encryption configured via the rundeck.storage.converter.1.type=jasypt-encryption setting, and you installed 4.2.0 or 4.2.1 then please upgrade to one of the patched versions.
If you do not use a "Storage Converter" plugin, this would not affect you.
CVE-2022-31044 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). The vector is network-reachable, no 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. A fixed version is available (4.2.2, 4.3.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
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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Rundeck 4.3.2 and 4.2.3 have fixed the code and upon upgrade will re-encrypt any plain text values. The fix is also included in 4.4.0 and later releases.
Note: 4.3.0 does not have the vulnerability, but does not include the patch to re-encrypt plain text values if 4.2.0 or 4.2.1 were used. The previously release 4.3.1 and 4.2.2 versions missed some re-encryption use cases that have been fixed in the versions mentioned above.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2022-31044? CVE-2022-31044 is a high-severity security vulnerability in org.rundeck:rundeck (maven), affecting versions >= 4.2.0, < 4.2.2. It is fixed in 4.2.2, 4.3.1.
- How severe is CVE-2022-31044? CVE-2022-31044 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). 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 org.rundeck:rundeck are affected by CVE-2022-31044? org.rundeck:rundeck (maven) versions >= 4.2.0, < 4.2.2 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2022-31044? Yes. CVE-2022-31044 is fixed in 4.2.2, 4.3.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2022-31044 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-31044 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-2022-31044 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.
- How do I fix CVE-2022-31044?
- Upgrade
org.rundeck:rundeckto 4.2.2 or later - Upgrade
org.rundeck:rundeckto 4.3.1 or later
- Upgrade