CVE-2020-2122: Brakeman Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-7q9r-vhg2-789w
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CVSS 5.4
CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-2122 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.4) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Brakeman libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves stored xss vulnerability in jenkins brakeman plugin. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.13.

CVE-2020-2122 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-2122
GHSA Identifier GHSA-7q9r-vhg2-789w
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.4
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Brakeman
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.4

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:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N).

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

How to Fix CVE-2020-2122

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Brakeman 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:brakeman fixed: 0.13 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.jenkins-ci.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>brakeman</artifactId>
    <version>0.13</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-2020-2122, 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 Brakeman in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.13), 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-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'), where the product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users. In Brakeman, 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

brakeman Plugin 0.12 and earlier did not escape values received from parsed JSON files when rendering them, resulting in a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability. This vulnerability can be exploited by users able to control the Brakeman post-build step input data.\n\nbrakeman Plugin 0.13 escape affected values from the parsed file as they are recorded. This fix is only applied to newly recorded data after a fixed version of the plugin is installed; historical data may still contain unsafe values.

CVE-2020-2122 Affected Brakeman Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.13
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.jenkins-ci.plugins:brakeman
maven/org.jenkins-ci.plugins/brakeman
Maven
< 0.13
0.13

References

NVD — CVE-2020-2122 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-2122
Brakeman Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/jenkinsci/brakeman-plugin
Brakeman Security Information SECURITY
https://jenkins.io/security/advisory/2020-02-12/#SECURITY-1644
Brakeman Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/02/12/3

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-2122?
CVE-2020-2122 is a security vulnerability in Brakeman involving Stored XSS vulnerability in Jenkins brakeman Plugin under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Brakeman versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.13 across affected packages: org.jenkins-ci.plugins:brakeman.
What version fixes CVE-2020-2122?
Upgrading to 0.13 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is brakeman affected?
Yes, org.jenkins-ci.plugins:brakeman is affected in releases prior to 0.13. Upgrade your dependency to 0.13 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-2122?
CVE-2020-2122 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.4 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-2122?
CVE-2020-2122 is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') (The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2020-2122?
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-7q9r-vhg2-789w",
  "modified" : "2023-01-14T05:27:43Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-24T17:08:47Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-2122" ],
  "summary" : "Stored XSS vulnerability in Jenkins brakeman Plugin",
  "details" : "brakeman Plugin 0.12 and earlier did not escape values received from parsed JSON files when rendering them, resulting in a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability.\n\nThis vulnerability can be exploited by users able to control the Brakeman post-build step input data.\\n\\nbrakeman Plugin 0.13 escape affected values from the parsed file as they are recorded.\n\nThis fix is only applied to newly recorded data after a fixed version of the plugin is installed; historical data may still contain unsafe values.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.jenkins-ci.plugins:brakeman"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.13"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-2122"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jenkinsci/brakeman-plugin"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://jenkins.io/security/advisory/2020-02-12/#SECURITY-1644"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/02/12/3"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-01-14T05:27:43Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-02-12T15:15:00Z"
  }
}