CVE-2018-1999036: Ssh agent Jenkins SSH Agent Plugin Exposes Vulnerability

LOW
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-wwgx-94v6-fc2p
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CVSS 3.1
CWE-532
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-1999036 is a LOW (CVSS 3.1) jenkins ssh agent plugin exposes vulnerability (CWE-532: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File) affecting Ssh agent libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves jenkins ssh agent plugin exposes ssh private key password to users with permission to read the build log. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.16.

CVE-2018-1999036 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-1999036
GHSA Identifier GHSA-wwgx-94v6-fc2p
Severity LOW
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 3.1
CWE Classification CWE-532: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File
Affected Product Ssh agent
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 3.1

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
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-2018-1999036

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Ssh agent 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.plugins:ssh-agent fixed: 1.16 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.jenkins-ci.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>ssh-agent</artifactId>
    <version>1.16</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.plugins

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2018-1999036, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

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

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Ssh agent in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.16), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.jenkins-ci.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-532: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File, where the product writes sensitive information to a log file. In Ssh agent, 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

An exposure of sensitive information vulnerability exists in Jenkins SSH Agent Plugin 1.15 and earlier in SSHAgentStepExecution.java that exposes the SSH private key password to users with permission to read the build log. As of version 1.16, the plugin no longer logs the ssh-add invocation that would reveal the passphrase.

CVE-2018-1999036 Affected Ssh agent Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.16
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.jenkins-ci.plugins:ssh-agent
maven/org.jenkins-ci.plugins/ssh-agent
Maven
< 1.16
1.16

References

NVD — CVE-2018-1999036 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-1999036
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/jenkinsci/ssh-agent-plugin/commit/3a8abe1889d25f9a73cdba202cf27212b273de4d
Ssh agent Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/jenkinsci/ssh-agent-plugin
Ssh agent Security Information SECURITY
https://jenkins.io/security/advisory/2018-07-30/#SECURITY-704

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-1999036?
CVE-2018-1999036 is a security vulnerability in Ssh agent involving Jenkins SSH Agent Plugin exposes SSH private key password to users with permission to read the build log under CWE-532: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File.
Which Ssh agent versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.16 across affected packages: org.jenkins-ci.plugins:ssh-agent.
What version fixes CVE-2018-1999036?
Upgrading to 1.16 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ssh-agent affected?
Yes, org.jenkins-ci.plugins:ssh-agent is affected in releases prior to 1.16. Upgrade your dependency to 1.16 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-1999036?
CVE-2018-1999036 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 3.1 (LOW) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-1999036?
CVE-2018-1999036 is classified under CWE-532: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File (The product writes sensitive information to a log file.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2018-1999036?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.jenkins-ci.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-wwgx-94v6-fc2p",
  "modified" : "2022-12-12T17:00:02Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-13T01:50:55Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-1999036" ],
  "summary" : "Jenkins SSH Agent Plugin exposes SSH private key password to users with permission to read the build log",
  "details" : "An exposure of sensitive information vulnerability exists in Jenkins SSH Agent Plugin 1.15 and earlier in SSHAgentStepExecution.java that exposes the SSH private key password to users with permission to read the build log. As of version 1.16, the plugin no longer logs the ssh-add invocation that would reveal the passphrase.\n\n",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.jenkins-ci.plugins:ssh-agent"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.16"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 1.15"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-1999036"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jenkinsci/ssh-agent-plugin/commit/3a8abe1889d25f9a73cdba202cf27212b273de4d"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jenkinsci/ssh-agent-plugin"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://jenkins.io/security/advisory/2018-07-30/#SECURITY-704"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-532" ],
    "severity" : "LOW",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-12-12T17:00:02Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2018-08-01T13:29:00Z"
  }
}