dbcve.org
Generic Webhook TriggerApplication · Jenkins

CVE-2021-21669

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-06-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.72 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 Generic Webhook Trigger Plugin 1.72 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 confidence

The Jenkins Generic Webhook Trigger Plugin versions 1.72 and earlier contains an XXE vulnerability because its XML parser is not configured to prevent external entity attacks. This allows authenticated attackers to inject malicious XML payloads that can access local files, perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), or cause denial of service.

MitigationUpdate the Jenkins Generic Webhook Trigger Plugin to version 1.73 or later, which includes proper XML parser configuration to disable external entity processing.

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
Generic Webhook TriggerApplication
Affected:<= 1.72

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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 Generic Webhook Trigger plugin is installed
    Check $JENKINS_HOME/plugins/ for a directory or .jpi file named 'generic-webhook-trigger' or 'generic-webhook-trigger-plugin'. Alternatively, use Jenkins CLI: java -jar jenkins-cli.jar list-plugins or navigate to Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins > Installed and search for the plugin.
    Affected if The plugin appears in the installed plugins list.
  2. Determine installed plugin version
    Inspect the plugin's manifest file: $JENKINS_HOME/plugins/generic-webhook-trigger/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF for the Implementation-Version, or check the plugin's .jpi file version in the filename. In Jenkins UI, the version is visible on the Installed plugins page.
    Affected if The version is 1.72 or earlier.
  3. Identify active webhook trigger jobs
    Search job configurations for triggers using the Generic Webhook Trigger plugin. This can be done via Jenkins API: /api/json?tree=jobs[name,url] or by reviewing job configuration XML files in $JENKINS_HOME/jobs/*/config.xml for <trigger> elements containing 'GenericTrigger' or similar plugin-specific entries.
    Affected if Jobs are configured with Generic Webhook Trigger triggers.
  4. Check for XML-based webhook payloads
    Review the webhook trigger configurations in affected jobs. Look for token parameters and any token-generated URLs that accept XML payloads. Examine whether the plugin processes XML content from incoming webhook requests.
    Affected if The plugin processes XML payloads from webhook requests.

You are affected if the Generic Webhook Trigger Plugin version 1.72 or earlier is installed and configured to process webhook requests containing XML data.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.72
Interim mitigation

Update the Jenkins Generic Webhook Trigger Plugin to version 1.73 or later, which includes proper XML parser configuration to disable external entity processing.

Recommended fix High confidence

1.73 or later

  1. Navigate to the Jenkins dashboard
  2. Go to Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins
  3. Click on the 'Updates' tab
  4. Locate 'Generic Webhook Trigger' in the list of available updates
  5. Select the plugin and click 'Download now and install after restart'
  6. After the download completes, restart Jenkins to apply the update
  7. Verify the plugin version has been updated to 1.73 or later

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Generic Webhook Trigger Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.

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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-2021-21669 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