Validating String ParameterApplication · Jenkins
CVE-2020-2257
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 Validating String Parameter Plugin 2.4 and earlier does not escape various user-controlled fields, resulting in a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability exploitable by attackers with Job/Configure permission.
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 Validating String Parameter Plugin versions 2.4 and earlier fails to properly escape user-controlled fields in its configuration and display interfaces. This allows an attacker with Job/Configure permission to inject malicious JavaScript code that gets stored and executed in the browsers of other users viewing the affected pages, resulting in a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability.
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
Validating String ParameterApplication
<= 2.4CVSS 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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Verify the Validating String Parameter Plugin is installedNavigate to Jenkins > Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins > Installed tab and search for 'Validating String Parameter' in the list of installed pluginsAffected if The plugin appears in the installed plugins list
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Determine the installed plugin versionIn the Installed Plugins tab, locate 'Validating String Parameter' and note the Version column. Alternatively, check the plugin's history file at /var/jenkins_home/plugins/validating-string-parameter-plugin/ or use the CLI: java -jar jenkins-cli.jar plugin validatin-string-parameterAffected if The version is 2.4 or earlier (e.g., 2.4, 2.3, 2.2, etc.)
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Identify jobs using Validating String ParameterReview Jenkins jobs that utilize the Validating String Parameter build parameter. This can be done by inspecting job configurations or searching job config.xml files for '<validatingStringParameter>' entriesAffected if Any job is configured with Validating String Parameter definitions containing user-supplied values
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Check user permissions for job configuration accessNavigate to Manage Jenkins > Manage and Assign Roles to review which users or groups have Job/Configure permissions. In job-level security, check which users can modify job configurationsAffected if Users with Job/Configure permission are untrusted or include external parties who could inject malicious content
Your environment is affected if the Validating String Parameter Plugin version 2.4 or earlier is installed AND at least one job uses this parameter with untrusted users having Job/Configure permission.
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 Validating String Parameter Plugin to version 2.5 or later, which includes proper output encoding to prevent XSS attacks. Verify compatibility with other plugins and test in a staging environment before production deployment.
Fix this in Validating String Parameter
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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 $2,512.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-2257 — 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-2020-2257 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
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