SubversionApplication · Jenkins
CVE-2021-21698
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 Subversion Plugin 2.15.0 and earlier does not restrict the name of a file when looking up a subversion key file on the controller from an agent.
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 Subversion Plugin versions 2.15.0 and earlier contain a path traversal vulnerability. Agents can manipulate the filename parameter when requesting a subversion key file from the controller, allowing unauthorized reading of arbitrary files on the Jenkins controller filesystem. This occurs because the plugin does not validate or restrict the file path provided by agent requests.
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
SubversionApplication
<= 2.15.0CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 Subversion plugin is installedNavigate to Jenkins > Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins > Installed tab and search for 'Subversion', or check the plugin directory for the hudson.scm.SubversionSCM plugin fileAffected if The Subversion plugin is not present in the installed plugins list
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Check Subversion plugin versionIn Jenkins > Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins > Installed tab, find the Subversion plugin and note the version number displayedAffected if The installed version is 2.15.0 or any earlier version (for example 2.14.0, 2.13.0, etc.)
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Confirm agent-to-controller communication is enabledNavigate to Jenkins > Manage Jenkins > Configure Global Security and look for agent-related access settings, or check if Jenkins agents are configured under Manage Jenkins > Manage NodesAffected if Jenkins agents are configured and have the ability to make file requests to the controller
A user is affected if they have Jenkins with the Subversion plugin installed at version 2.15.0 or earlier AND have Jenkins agents configured that can communicate with the controller.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpdate the Jenkins Subversion Plugin to the latest patched version. Additionally, restrict agent-to-controller file access permissions using Jenkins' built-in security settings to limit what files agents can request.
Jenkins Subversion Plugin 2.15.1 or later
- 1. Navigate to Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins
- 2. Go to the Installed tab
- 3. Find the Subversion Plugin in the list
- 4. If an update is available, click 'Update' to upgrade to the fixed version
- 5. Restart Jenkins or wait for the plugin to be deployed to all nodes
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Subversion
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-21698 — 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-2021-21698 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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