Visual Studio Code MetricsApplication · Jenkins
CVE-2023-28681
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 Visual Studio Code Metrics Plugin 1.7 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 confidenceThe Jenkins Visual Studio Code Metrics Plugin versions 1.7 and earlier does not configure its XML parser to prevent XML external entity (XXE) attacks. This allows an attacker to inject malicious external entity definitions into XML input processed by the plugin, potentially leading to disclosure of internal files or denial of service.
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
Visual Studio Code MetricsApplication
<= 1.7CVSS 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
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if Visual Studio Code Metrics plugin is installedIn Jenkins web UI, go to Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins > Installed tab and search for 'Visual Studio Code Metrics' or 'codemetrics'. Alternatively, query the Jenkins API at /pluginManager/api/json?tree=plugins[shortName,version] and look for a plugin entry with shortName containing 'codemetrics' or 'visualstudio'.Affected if The plugin is present in the installed plugins list
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Determine the installed plugin versionFrom the plugin list or API response in the previous step, note the version number shown for the Visual Studio Code Metrics plugin (the 'version' field).Affected if The version number is 1.7 or lower, or if the version cannot be determined but the plugin is present (assume affected if no version is displayed and the plugin is old)
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Verify the plugin is being usedCheck Jenkins job configurations for any jobs using the Visual Studio Code Metrics plugin - look for 'Record Visual Studio Code Metrics' or similar build steps in job configuration pages.Affected if The plugin is used in any job configuration (the XXE vulnerability triggers when the plugin processes XML input during build steps)
If the Visual Studio Code Metrics plugin is installed and its version is 1.7 or earlier, the environment is affected by this XXE vulnerability.
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 · scopedUpgrade to Visual Studio Code Metrics Plugin version 1.8 or later, which properly configures the XML parser to disable external entity processing.
1.8 or later
- Upgrade Jenkins Visual Studio Code Metrics Plugin from version 1.7 or earlier to version 1.8 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Visual Studio Code Metrics
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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 $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-28681 — 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-2023-28681 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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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.
- 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