CVE-2020-2197: Project inheritance Missing Permission Check Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-hj32-9mcw-5cwh
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CVSS 4.3
CWE-285
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-2197 is a MODERATE (CVSS 4.3) missing permission check vulnerability (CWE-285: Improper Authorization) affecting Project inheritance libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves missing permission check in jenkins project inheritance plugin. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2020-2197 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-2197
GHSA Identifier GHSA-hj32-9mcw-5cwh
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 4.3
CWE Classification CWE-285: Improper Authorization
Affected Product Project inheritance
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 4.3

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2020-2197

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

hudson.plugins:project-inheritance fixed: Latest secure release 
<dependency>
    <groupId>hudson.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>project-inheritance</artifactId>
    <version>Latest secure release</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=hudson.plugins

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2020-2197, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=hudson.plugins

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

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=hudson.plugins 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-285: Improper Authorization, where the product does not perform or incorrectly performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action. In Project inheritance, 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 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.

CVE-2020-2197 Affected Project inheritance Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
hudson.plugins:project-inheritance
maven/hudson.plugins/project-inheritance
Maven
≤ 21.04.03

References

NVD — CVE-2020-2197 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-2197
Project inheritance Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/github/advisory-database/pull/1356
Project inheritance Security Information SECURITY
https://jenkins.io/security/advisory/2020-06-03/#SECURITY-1582
Project inheritance Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/06/03/3

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-2197?
CVE-2020-2197 is a security vulnerability in Project inheritance involving Missing permission check in Jenkins Project Inheritance Plugin under CWE-285: Improper Authorization.
Which Project inheritance versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: hudson.plugins:project-inheritance.
What version fixes CVE-2020-2197?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is project-inheritance affected?
Yes, hudson.plugins:project-inheritance is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-2197?
CVE-2020-2197 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-2197?
CVE-2020-2197 is classified under CWE-285: Improper Authorization (The product does not perform or incorrectly performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2020-2197?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=hudson.plugins'. 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
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-hj32-9mcw-5cwh",
  "modified" : "2023-10-26T22:24:33Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-24T17:19:05Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-2197" ],
  "summary" : "Missing permission check in Jenkins Project Inheritance Plugin",
  "details" : "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.\n\nProject 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.\n\nAdditionally, 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.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "hudson.plugins:project-inheritance"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "21.04.03"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-2197"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/github/advisory-database/pull/1356"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://jenkins.io/security/advisory/2020-06-03/#SECURITY-1582"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/06/03/3"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-285" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-12-21T17:47:08Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-06-03T13:15:00Z"
  }
}