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Active ChoicesApplication · Jenkins

CVE-2021-21699

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.5.6 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
High EPSS 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 2.5.6 and earlier does not escape the parameter name of reactive parameters and dynamic reference 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 2.5.6 and earlier fails to escape parameter names in reactive parameters and dynamic reference parameters, allowing stored XSS attacks. An attacker with Job/Configure permission can inject malicious scripts into parameter names that execute when other users view the configuration.

MitigationUpdate the Jenkins Active Choices Plugin to version 2.6 or later. Until then, restrict Job/Configure permission to trusted users only.

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:<= 2.5.6

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. Check if Active Choices plugin is installed
    Navigate to Jenkins > Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins > Installed, or use the Jenkins CLI: java -jar jenkins-cli.jar list-plugins (or check /var/lib/jenkins/plugins/ for the active-choices plugin directory)
    Affected if The plugin is not listed or the directory does not exist
  2. Determine the installed version of Active Choices
    In Jenkins UI: Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins > Installed > find Active Choices and note the Version column. Or check the plugin manifest: /var/lib/jenkins/plugins/active-choices/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
    Affected if The version is 2.5.6 or earlier
  3. Identify if reactive or dynamic reference parameters are in use
    Review job configurations: for each job using Active Choices parameters, check if any parameter type is set to 'Reactive Parameter' or 'Dynamic Reference Parameter'. Use Jenkins API or check job config.xml files in /var/jenkins/jobs/<jobname>/config.xml for <definition class> containing 'ActiveChoiceDefinition'
    Affected if Jobs contain reactive parameters or dynamic reference parameters configured
  4. Audit Job/Configure permissions
    Go to Manage Jenkins > Manage Users and check which users have Overall/Administer or access to specific jobs with Configure permission. Review matrix authorization settings or project-based authorization
    Affected if Any user with Job/Configure permission is untrusted or if anonymous users have configure access

You are affected if the Active Choices plugin version is 2.5.6 or earlier AND your jobs use reactive or dynamic reference parameters AND untrusted users have 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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.5.6
Interim mitigation

Update the Jenkins Active Choices Plugin to version 2.6 or later. Until then, restrict Job/Configure permission to trusted users only.

Recommended fix High confidence

Active Choices Plugin version 2.5.7 or later

  1. Log in to Jenkins as an administrator
  2. Navigate to 'Manage Jenkins' > 'Manage Plugins'
  3. Go to the 'Installed' tab
  4. Find 'Active Choices' plugin in the list
  5. If an update is available, check for version 2.5.7 or later and upgrade
  6. Alternatively, check the 'Available' tab and search for 'Active Choices'
  7. Install version 2.5.7 or the latest available version
  8. Restart Jenkins to apply the plugin update

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

Fix this in Active Choices Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

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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-2021-21699 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