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RundeckApplication · Pagerduty

CVE-2022-31044

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-06-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Rundeck is an open source automation service with a web console, command line tools and a WebAPI. The Key Storage converter plugin mechanism was not enabled correctly in Rundeck 4.2.0 and 4.2.1, resulting in use of the encryption layer for Key Storage possibly not working. Any credentials created or overwritten using Rundeck 4.2.0 or 4.2.1 might result in them being written in plaintext to the backend storage. This affects those using any `Storage Converter` plugin. Rundeck 4.3.1 and 4.2.2 have fixed the code and upon upgrade will re-encrypt any plain text values. Version 4.3.0 does not have the vulnerability, but does not include the patch to re-encrypt plain text values if 4.2.0 or 4.2.1 were used. To prevent plaintext credentials from being stored in Rundeck 4.2.0/4.2.1, write access to key storage can be disabled via ACLs. After upgrading to 4.3.1 or later, write access can be restored.

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

In Rundeck 4.2.0 and 4.2.1, the Key Storage converter plugin mechanism was not correctly enabled, causing the encryption layer for Key Storage to fail. This resulted in any credentials created or overwritten during those versions being stored in plaintext to backend storage, specifically affecting users of any Storage Converter plugin.

MitigationUpgrade to Rundeck 4.3.1 or 4.2.2 which fixes the issue and automatically re-encrypts plaintext values upon upgrade. As a preventive measure before upgrading from 4.2.0/4.2.1, disable write access to key storage via ACLs.

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
RundeckApplication
Affected:= 4.2.0= 4.2.1

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed Rundeck version
    Check the Rundeck application version through the UI (Help > About) or by querying the API endpoint /api/14/system/info, or check the RPM/deb package version if installed via system package manager
    Affected if Version is exactly 4.2.0 or 4.2.1
  2. Determine if Storage Converter plugin is enabled
    Navigate to Key Storage settings in Rundeck UI (Key Storage > Storage Converter) or check the rundeck-config.properties file for storage.converter plugin configuration
    Affected if Any Storage Converter plugin is configured and enabled in the Key Storage subsystem
  3. Identify credentials created during affected versions
    Review Key Storage entries and check their creation/modification timestamps. If entries were created or modified while running 4.2.0 or 4.2.1, they may be stored as plaintext
    Affected if Key Storage entries were created or overwritten while running version 4.2.0 or 4.2.1 and a Storage Converter was configured

A user is affected if they are running Rundeck version 4.2.0 or 4.2.1 AND have a Storage Converter plugin enabled, with credentials stored during that time period.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to Rundeck 4.3.1 or 4.2.2 which fixes the issue and automatically re-encrypts plaintext values upon upgrade. As a preventive measure before upgrading from 4.2.0/4.2.1, disable write access to key storage via ACLs.

Recommended fix High confidence

Rundeck 4.3.1 or later (or 4.2.2 for 4.2.x branch users)

  1. Before upgrading, disable write access to key storage via ACLs to prevent new plaintext credentials from being stored
  2. Upgrade to Rundeck 4.3.1 or later (or 4.2.2 if staying on the 4.2.x branch)
  3. After upgrading, verify that the Key Storage converter plugin is functioning and encrypting credentials correctly
  4. Restore write access to key storage after confirming encryption is working
Caveat Upgrading between major versions may require configuration review; ensure ACL policies are properly configured before re-enabling write access

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

Fix this in Rundeck 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
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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-2022-31044 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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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
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