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Active ChoicesApplication · Jenkins

CVE-2020-2289

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-10-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.4 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 · unedited
Jenkins Active Choices Plugin 2.4 and earlier does not escape the name and description of build parameters, 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 confidence

The Jenkins Active Choices Plugin versions 2.4 and earlier fails to properly escape HTML/script content in the name and description fields of build parameters. This allows an attacker with Job/Configure permission to inject malicious JavaScript that executes in the browsers of other users viewing the job configuration page, resulting in a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability.

MitigationUpdate Jenkins Active Choices Plugin to version 2.5 or later which includes proper escaping of parameter names and descriptions. Alternatively, restrict Job/Configure permission to trusted users only until the patch can be applied.

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
Active ChoicesApplication
Affected:<= 2.4

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Active Choices plugin is installed
    Navigate to Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins > Installed tab, or use the Jenkins script console: jenkins.model.Jenkins.instance.pluginManager.plugins.find { it.shortName == 'active-choices' }
    Affected if The plugin is present in the plugin list
  2. Check the installed version
    In the Installed plugins tab, locate 'Active Choices' and verify the version number in the Version column. Alternatively, run: Jenkins.instance.pluginManager.plugins.each { if (it.shortName == 'active-choices') println it.version }
    Affected if The version listed is 2.4 or earlier
  3. Identify jobs using Active Choices parameters
    Run a script to find all jobs with Active Choices parameters: Jenkins.instance.allItems.each { job -> job.parametersDefinitionProperties.each { if (it.class.name.contains('ActiveChoicesParameterDefinition')) println job.fullName } }
    Affected if Any jobs are returned by this query, meaning Active Choices parameters are in use
  4. Inspect parameter names and descriptions for unsanitized content
    Review the configuration XML of jobs with Active Choices parameters (configure each job, expand Parameters section) to inspect the 'Name' and 'Description' fields for HTML tags, script tags, or JavaScript code that may have been injected
    Affected if The name or description fields contain raw HTML, script elements, or JavaScript code (not escaped)
  5. Check who has Job/Configure permission
    Review the authorization matrix or project-based security settings for each job using Active Choices: go to job > Configure > Enable project-based security, and review the 'Job/Configure' permission column
    Affected if Users without full trust have Job/Configure permission, as this is the permission level required to exploit the vulnerability

You are affected if the Active Choices plugin version is 2.4 or earlier AND there are jobs using Active Choices parameters accessible to users with Job/Configure permission.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.4
Interim mitigation

Update Jenkins Active Choices Plugin to version 2.5 or later which includes proper escaping of parameter names and descriptions. Alternatively, restrict Job/Configure permission to trusted users only until the patch can be applied.

Fix this in Active Choices Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-2289 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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