JenkinsApplication
CVE-2020-2161
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 2.227 and earlier, LTS 2.204.5 and earlier does not properly escape node labels that are shown in the form validation for label expressions on job configuration pages, resulting in a stored XSS vulnerability exploitable by users able to define node labels.
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 confidenceJenkins fails to properly escape node labels when displaying them in form validation for label expressions on job configuration pages. This allows authenticated users who can define node labels to inject malicious JavaScript code that executes in the browsers of other users viewing job configurations.
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
JenkinsApplication
<= 2.204.5<= 2.227CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/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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Check your Jenkins versionNavigate to Manage Jenkins > About Jenkins or access /whoAmI/ API endpoint to retrieve the exact version numberAffected if The installed version is 2.204.5 or earlier, or any version 2.205 through 2.227 inclusive
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Identify jobs with label expressions configuredReview job configurations for any nodes or label expressions defined in the 'Label' or 'Restrict where this project can be run' fields. Use Jenkins CLI or API: jenkins-cli.jar or /api/json?tree=jobs[name,customWorkspace[remote],assignedNode] to enumerate nodes/label usageAffected if Jobs or projects are configured with specific node labels that could be controlled by authenticated users
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Verify user permissions for label definitionCheck Manage Jenkins > Manage Users and review authorization settings in Configure Global Security. Determine if users other than administrators can create or modify job configurations containing node labelsAffected if Non-admin users have permission to create or configure jobs and their node label settings
You are affected if your Jenkins version falls within 2.204.5 or earlier or 2.205-2.227 AND authenticated users can define node labels in job configurations.
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 Jenkins to version 2.227 or later (LTS 2.204.6 or later) to obtain the patch that properly escapes node labels in this context.
Fix this in Jenkins
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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 $3,648.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-2161 — 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-2020-2161 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data