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PerformanceApplication · Jenkins

CVE-2021-21701

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.20 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 Performance Plugin 3.20 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

Jenkins Performance Plugin versions 3.20 and earlier contains an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability due to its XML parser not being configured to disable external entity processing. Attackers can exploit this by submitting specially crafted XML files containing malicious entity references to read local files or perform server-side request forgery.

MitigationUpgrade Jenkins Performance Plugin to a version that configures the XML parser to prevent XXE attacks, or configure the XML parser to disable external entity processing if upgrading is not immediately feasible.

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
PerformanceApplication
Affected:<= 3.20

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

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

  1. Verify Jenkins Performance Plugin is installed
    Navigate to Jenkins > Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins > Installed tab and search for 'Performance' or check the plugin directory at $JENKINS_HOME/plugins/ for the performance folder
    Affected if The plugin is not installed
  2. Determine the installed version of Performance Plugin
    In Jenkins > Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins > Installed, locate the Performance plugin and read the Version column; alternatively, check the version file in $JENKINS_HOME/plugins/performance/WEB-INF/manifest.mf
    Affected if The version is 3.20 or lower
  3. Confirm the plugin is actively processing performance reports
    Check Jenkins job configurations that use the Performance plugin for recording performance test results (e.g., from JMeter, Selenium, or other tools that produce XML reports)
    Affected if Jobs are configured to parse XML performance reports using this plugin
  4. Verify XML files are being submitted to the plugin
    Review build logs or artifact storage for XML files being processed by the Performance plugin (such as JMeter result files in XML format)
    Affected if XML-based performance reports are being processed by the plugin

You are affected if Jenkins Performance Plugin version 3.20 or lower is installed and configured to parse XML performance report files from CI/CD builds.

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 3.20
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Jenkins Performance Plugin to a version that configures the XML parser to prevent XXE attacks, or configure the XML parser to disable external entity processing if upgrading is not immediately feasible.

Recommended fix High confidence

Performance Plugin 3.21 or later

  1. Log in to Jenkins and navigate to 'Manage Jenkins' > 'Manage Plugins'
  2. Go to the 'Installed' tab and locate the Performance plugin
  3. If version 3.21 or later is not installed, click 'Check for updates' in the 'Updates' tab
  4. Find the Performance plugin in the updates list and select it
  5. Click 'Download now and install after restart' or 'Install' depending on availability
  6. Restart Jenkins to complete the plugin update
  7. Verify the installed version is 3.21 or later under 'Manage Plugins' > 'Installed'
Caveat Minor plugin version upgrade; test in non-production environment before deploying to production as a standard precaution

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

Fix this in Performance Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

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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-2021-21701 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