CoberturaApplication · Jenkins
CVE-2020-2138
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 Cobertura Plugin 1.15 and earlier does not configure its XML parser to prevent XML external entity (XXE) 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 Cobertura Plugin versions 1.15 and earlier contains an XML external entity (XXE) vulnerability because its XML parser is not configured to prevent XXE attacks. An attacker could exploit this by submitting maliciously crafted XML content to the plugin, potentially allowing disclosure of confidential data or denial of service.
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
CoberturaApplication
<= 1.15CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/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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Identify if Jenkins Cobertura Plugin is installedIn Jenkins, go to Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins > Installed tab and search for 'Cobertura'. Alternatively, check the file system for the plugin jar in $JENKINS_HOME/plugins/ directory.Affected if The Cobertura Plugin is listed as installed in Jenkins or the cobertura plugin jar exists in the plugins directory.
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Determine the installed version of the Cobertura PluginIn Jenkins, go to Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins > Installed tab, find Cobertura in the list, and note the version number displayed. If using the file system, check the plugin's manifest or version file within the plugin directory.Affected if The installed version is 1.15 or any version lower than 1.15.
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Verify the plugin is in active useCheck Jenkins job configurations for any jobs that have the 'Publish Cobertura Coverage Report' post-build step enabled, or check recent build logs for Cobertura processing activity.Affected if Any Jenkins jobs are configured to publish Cobertura coverage reports using the plugin.
You are affected if the Jenkins Cobertura Plugin is installed at version 1.15 or earlier AND is being used by any jobs to process coverage reports.
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 dataUpgrade the Jenkins Cobertura Plugin to version 1.16 or later, which configures the XML parser to disable external entity processing. If upgrading is not possible, ensure only trusted XML content is processed by the plugin.
Fix this in Cobertura
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-2138 — 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-2020-2138 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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