CVE-2024-23897: Jenkins core Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-6f9g-cxwr-q5jr
CVSS 9.8
CWE-27 CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2024-23897 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-27: Path Traversal: 'dir/../../filename') affecting Jenkins core libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves arbitrary file read vulnerability through the jenkins cli can lead to rce. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.426.3, 2.440.1, 2.442.

CVE-2024-23897 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2024-23897
GHSA Identifier GHSA-6f9g-cxwr-q5jr
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-27: Path Traversal: 'dir/../../filename'
Affected Product Jenkins core
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2024-23897

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Jenkins core dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

org.jenkins-ci.main:jenkins-core fixed: 2.426.3
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.jenkins-ci.main</groupId>
    <artifactId>jenkins-core</artifactId>
    <version>2.426.3</version>
</dependency>
org.jenkins-ci.main:jenkins-core fixed: 2.440.1
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.jenkins-ci.main</groupId>
    <artifactId>jenkins-core</artifactId>
    <version>2.440.1</version>
</dependency>
org.jenkins-ci.main:jenkins-core fixed: 2.442
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.jenkins-ci.main</groupId>
    <artifactId>jenkins-core</artifactId>
    <version>2.442</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.jenkins-ci.main

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2024-23897, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.jenkins-ci.main

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Jenkins core in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.426.3), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.jenkins-ci.main command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-27: Path Traversal: 'dir/../../filename', where the product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize multiple internal "../" sequences that can resolve to a location that is outside of that directory. In Jenkins core, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Jenkins has a built-in command line interface (CLI) to access Jenkins from a script or shell environment. Jenkins uses the args4j library to parse command arguments and options on the Jenkins controller when processing CLI commands. This command parser has a feature that replaces an @ character followed by a file path in an argument with the file’s contents (expandAtFiles). This feature is enabled by default and Jenkins 2.441 and earlier, LTS 2.426.2 and earlier does not disable it. This allows attackers to read arbitrary files on the Jenkins controller file system using the default character encoding of the Jenkins controller process. * Attackers with Overall/Read permission can read entire files. * Attackers without Overall/Read permission can read the first few lines of files. The number of lines that can be read depends on available CLI commands. As of publication of this advisory, the Jenkins security team has found ways to read the first three lines of files in recent releases of Jenkins without having any plugins installed, and has not identified any plugins that would increase this line count. Binary files containing cryptographic keys used for various Jenkins features can also be read, with some limitations (see note on binary files below). As of publication, the Jenkins security team has confirmed the following possible attacks in addition to reading contents of all files with a known file path. All of them leverage attackers' ability to obtain cryptographic keys from binary files, and are therefore only applicable to instances where that is feasible.

CVE-2024-23897 Affected Jenkins core Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.426.32.440.12.442
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.jenkins-ci.main:jenkins-core
Maven
≥ 1.606
< 2.426.3
2.426.3
org.jenkins-ci.main:jenkins-core
Maven
≥ 2.427
< 2.440.1
2.440.1
org.jenkins-ci.main:jenkins-core
Maven
≥ 2.441
< 2.442
All 1 versions
2.441
2.442

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-23897?
CVE-2024-23897 is a security vulnerability in Jenkins core involving Arbitrary file read vulnerability through the Jenkins CLI can lead to RCE under CWE-27: Path Traversal: 'dir/../../filename'.
Which Jenkins core versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.426.3, 2.440.1, 2.442 across affected packages: org.jenkins-ci.main:jenkins-core.
What version fixes CVE-2024-23897?
Upgrading to 2.426.3, 2.440.1, 2.442 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is jenkins-core affected?
Yes, org.jenkins-ci.main:jenkins-core is affected in releases prior to 2.426.3, 2.440.1, 2.442. Upgrade your dependency to 2.426.3, 2.440.1, 2.442 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2024-23897?
CVE-2024-23897 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2024-23897?
CVE-2024-23897 is classified under CWE-27: Path Traversal: 'dir/../../filename' (The product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize multiple internal "../" sequences that can resolve to a location that is outside of that directory.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2024-23897?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.jenkins-ci.main'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-6f9g-cxwr-q5jr",
  "modified" : "2025-10-22T19:24:52Z",
  "published" : "2024-01-24T18:31:02Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2024-23897" ],
  "summary" : "Arbitrary file read vulnerability through the Jenkins CLI can lead to RCE",
  "details" : "Jenkins has a built-in command line interface (CLI) to access Jenkins from a script or shell environment.\n\nJenkins uses the args4j library to parse command arguments and options on the Jenkins controller when processing CLI commands. This command parser has a feature that replaces an @ character followed by a file path in an argument with the file’s contents (expandAtFiles). This feature is enabled by default and Jenkins 2.441 and earlier, LTS 2.426.2 and earlier does not disable it.\n\nThis allows attackers to read arbitrary files on the Jenkins controller file system using the default character encoding of the Jenkins controller process.\n\n* Attackers with Overall/Read permission can read entire files.\n\n* Attackers without Overall/Read permission can read the first few lines of files. The number of lines that can be read depends on available CLI commands. As of publication of this advisory, the Jenkins security team has found ways to read the first three lines of files in recent releases of Jenkins without having any plugins installed, and has not identified any plugins that would increase this line count.\n\nBinary files containing cryptographic keys used for various Jenkins features can also be read, with some limitations (see note on binary files below). As of publication, the Jenkins security team has confirmed the following possible attacks in addition to reading contents of all files with a known file path. All of them leverage attackers' ability to obtain cryptographic keys from binary files, and are therefore only applicable to instances where that is feasible.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:A"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.jenkins-ci.main:jenkins-core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.606"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.426.3"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 2.426.2"
    }
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.jenkins-ci.main:jenkins-core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.427"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.440.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.jenkins-ci.main:jenkins-core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.441"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.442"
      } ]
    } ],
    "versions" : [ "2.441" ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-23897"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jenkinsci/jenkins/commit/554f03782057c499c49bbb06575f0d28b5200edb"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jenkinsci/jenkins"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2024-23897"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.jenkins.io/changelog-stable/#v2.440.1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.jenkins.io/security/advisory/2024-01-24/#SECURITY-3314"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.sonarsource.com/blog/excessive-expansion-uncovering-critical-security-vulnerabilities-in-jenkins"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/the-anatomy-of-a-jenkins-vulnerability-cve-2024-23897-revealed-1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/176839/Jenkins-2.441-LTS-2.426.3-CVE-2024-23897-Scanner.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/176840/Jenkins-2.441-LTS-2.426.3-Arbitrary-File-Read.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/01/24/6"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22", "CWE-27" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-01-26T01:56:43Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-01-24T18:15:09Z"
  }
}