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Owasp Dependency CheckApplication · Jenkins

CVE-2021-43577

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.1.1 or later.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
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 OWASP Dependency-Check Plugin 5.1.1 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 OWASP Dependency-Check Plugin versions 5.1.1 and earlier fails to configure its XML parser securely, allowing XML External Entity (XXE) attacks. An attacker could craft malicious XML input to potentially read local files on the Jenkins controller or perform server-side request forgery (SSRF) attacks.

MitigationUpgrade the plugin to a version that properly configures the XML parser to disable external entity processing. If no upgrade is available, configure the XML parser to disable DTD processing and external entities programmatically.

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
Owasp Dependency CheckApplication
Affected:<= 5.1.1

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
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 OWASP Dependency-Check plugin is installed
    Locate the plugin in the Jenkins plugins directory (typically $JENKINS_HOME/plugins/) or access Jenkins /pluginManager/installed to list installed plugins
    Affected if The OWASP Dependency-Check plugin appears in the installed plugins list
  2. Determine the installed plugin version
    Check the plugin's manifest file, .jpi file properties, or view the version displayed in Jenkins Plugin Manager under the OWASP Dependency-Check entry
    Affected if The displayed version is 5.1.1 or any version lower than 5.1.1
  3. Confirm plugin is in active use
    Review Jenkins job configurations or build history to identify any jobs that utilize the OWASP Dependency-Check plugin for builds or scans
    Affected if The plugin is actively used in one or more Jenkins jobs or build pipelines

If the OWASP Dependency-Check plugin version 5.1.1 or earlier is installed and actively used in Jenkins, the environment is vulnerable to XXE attacks via the plugin's insecure XML parser configuration.

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 5.1.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade the plugin to a version that properly configures the XML parser to disable external entity processing. If no upgrade is available, configure the XML parser to disable DTD processing and external entities programmatically.

Fix this in Owasp Dependency Check Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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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-2021-43577 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