Summary
Sandbox bypass vulnerabilities in Jenkins Script Security Plugin and in Pipeline: Groovy Plugin
Script Security Plugin provides a sandbox feature that allows low privileged users to define scripts, including Pipelines, that are generally safe to execute. Calls to code defined inside a sandboxed script are intercepted, and various allowlists are checked to determine whether the call is to be allowed.
Multiple sandbox bypass vulnerabilities exist in Script Security Plugin and Pipeline: Groovy Plugin:
- In Script Security Plugin 1183.v774b_0b_0a_a_451 and earlier and in Pipeline: Groovy Plugin 2802.v5ea_628154b_c2 and earlier, various casts performed implicitly by the Groovy language runtime were not intercepted by the sandbox. This includes casts performed when returning values from methods, when assigning local variables, fields, properties, and when defining default arguments for closure, constructor, and method parameters (CVE-2022-43401 in Script Security Plugin and CVE-2022-43402 in Pipeline: Groovy Plugin).
- In Script Security Plugin 1183.v774b_0b_0a_a_451 and earlier, when casting an array-like value to an array type, per-element casts to the component type of the array are not intercepted by the sandbox (CVE-2022-43403).
- In Script Security Plugin 1183.v774b_0b_0a_a_451 and earlier, crafted constructor bodies and calls to sandbox-generated synthetic constructors can be used to construct any subclassable type (due to an incomplete fix for SECURITY-1754 in the 2020-03-09 security advisory) (CVE-2022-43404).
These vulnerabilities allow attackers with permission to define and run sandboxed scripts, including Pipelines, to bypass the sandbox protection and execute arbitrary code in the context of the Jenkins controller JVM.
These vulnerabilities have been fixed:
- Script Security Plugin 1184.v85d16b_d851b_3 and Pipeline: Groovy Plugin 2803.v1a_f77ffcc773 intercept Groovy casts performed implicitly by the Groovy language runtime (CVE-2022-43401 in Script Security Plugin and CVE-2022-43402 in Pipeline: Groovy Plugin).
- Script Security Plugin 1184.v85d16b_d851b_3 intercepts per-element casts when casting array-like values to array types (CVE-2022-43403).
- Script Security Plugin 1184.v85d16b_d851b_3 rejects improper calls to sandbox-generated synthetic constructors (CVE-2022-43404).
Both plugins, Script Security Plugin and Pipeline: Groovy Plugin must be updated simultaneously. While Script Security Plugin could be updated independently, doing so would cause errors in Pipeline: Groovy Plugin due to an incompatible API change.
Impact
CVE-2022-43404 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (High). 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. A fixed version is available (1184.v85d16b_d851b_3, 2803.v1a_f77ffcc773); 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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org.jenkins-ci.plugins:script-security to 1184.v85d16b_d851b_3 or later; org.jenkins-ci.plugins.workflow:workflow-cps to 2803.v1a_f77ffcc773 or later
Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2022-43404? CVE-2022-43404 is a high-severity security vulnerability in org.jenkins-ci.plugins:script-security (maven), affecting versions < 1184.v85d16b. It is fixed in 1184.v85d16b_d851b_3, 2803.v1a_f77ffcc773.
- How severe is CVE-2022-43404? CVE-2022-43404 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (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 packages are affected by CVE-2022-43404?
org.jenkins-ci.plugins:script-security(maven) (versions < 1184.v85d16b)org.jenkins-ci.plugins.workflow:workflow-cps(maven) (versions <= 2802.v5ea)
- Is there a fix for CVE-2022-43404? Yes. CVE-2022-43404 is fixed in 1184.v85d16b_d851b_3, 2803.v1a_f77ffcc773. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2022-43404 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-43404 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-2022-43404 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-2022-43404?
- Upgrade
org.jenkins-ci.plugins:script-securityto 1184.v85d16b_d851b_3 or later - Upgrade
org.jenkins-ci.plugins.workflow:workflow-cpsto 2803.v1a_f77ffcc773 or later
- Upgrade