Google Compute EngineApplication · Jenkins
CVE-2019-16546
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedJenkins Google Compute Engine Plugin 4.1.1 and earlier does not verify SSH host keys when connecting agents created by the plugin, enabling man-in-the-middle attacks.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe Jenkins Google Compute Engine Plugin versions 4.1.1 and earlier lacks SSH host key verification when establishing connections to compute engine agents. This allows an attacker to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by impersonating the agent and intercepting sensitive communications between the Jenkins master and the provisioned compute resources.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Google Compute EngineApplication
< 4.2.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Google Compute Engine Plugin is installedNavigate to Jenkins > Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins > Installed tab, or inspect the $JENKINS_HOME/plugins directory for a google-compute-engine folder.Affected if The plugin folder exists in the plugins directory or is listed as installed in the Manage Plugins interface.
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Check the installed plugin versionIn the Manage Plugins > Installed tab, find the Google Compute Engine Plugin and note the version number displayed. Alternatively, check the plugin's manifest file ( MANIFEST.MF ) inside the google-compute-engine folder.Affected if A version is found that is less than 4.2.0.
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Confirm the plugin is configured and actively usedNavigate to Manage Jenkins > Configure Clouds > Google Compute Engine, or check the Jenkins main configuration for any cloud configuration pointing to Google Compute Engine. Also check if any jobs are configured to run on Google Compute Engine agents.Affected if The plugin has a cloud configuration saved, or agents are provisioned through this plugin.
A user is affected if the Google Compute Engine Plugin version is below 4.2.0 AND the plugin is configured to provision or communicate with compute engine agents in Jenkins.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data4.2.0
Upgrade the Google Compute Engine Plugin to version 4.1.2 or later which implements proper SSH host key verification. Until upgraded, avoid using the plugin in untrusted network environments.
Fix this in Google Compute Engine
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-16546 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-16546 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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