dbcve.org
JenkinsApplication

CVE-2023-43496

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.414.2 / 2.424 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 2.423 and earlier, LTS 2.414.1 and earlier creates a temporary file in the system temporary directory with the default permissions for newly created files when installing a plugin from a URL, potentially allowing attackers with access to the system temporary directory to replace the file before it is installed in Jenkins, potentially resulting in arbitrary code execution.

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 creates temporary files in the system temporary directory with default permissions when installing plugins from URLs. An attacker with access to the temp directory can replace the file before installation completes, leading to arbitrary code execution with Jenkins privileges.

MitigationUpgrade to Jenkins 2.424 or LTS 2.414.2 or later, which addresses this vulnerability by properly securing temporary files during plugin installation.

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
JenkinsApplication
Affected:< 2.414.2< 2.424

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 installed Jenkins version
    Locate the Jenkins version running in your environment (typically via the UI at /about or via the CLI 'java -jar jenkins.war --version' or checking the WAR file version)
    Affected if The version is below 2.414.2 LTS or below 2.424 (weekly)
  2. Identify plugin installation method
    Review how plugins have been installed: check if any plugins were installed from custom URLs (versus from the Update Center or uploaded WAR files)
    Affected if Plugins were installed from custom URLs, as this is the required trigger for the vulnerable code path
  3. Verify temp directory accessibility
    Assess who has read/write access to the system temporary directory (on Linux/Unix typically /tmp; on Windows typically the user profile temp folder)
    Affected if The temp directory is accessible to other users or shared systems, allowing potential file replacement before installation completes
  4. Inspect temp directory for Jenkins artifacts
    Examine the system temp directory for recently created files related to plugin downloads (files with .jpi, .hpi extensions or partial download markers)
    Affected if Temporary plugin files exist with default filesystem permissions, indicating the vulnerable behavior may have been triggered

You are affected if your Jenkins version is below 2.414.2 or below 2.424 AND you have installed plugins from custom URLs while the temp directory was accessible to other users.

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 2.414.2 / 2.424 or later
Fixed in 2.414.22.424
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Jenkins 2.424 or LTS 2.414.2 or later, which addresses this vulnerability by properly securing temporary files during plugin installation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Jenkins 2.424 (weekly) or Jenkins LTS 2.414.2

  1. 1. Back up your Jenkins home directory (JENKINS_HOME) and configuration before upgrading.
  2. 2. Review the Jenkins upgrade guide at https://www.jenkins.io/doc/book/upgrading/ for your current version.
  3. 3. Download the fixed version: Jenkins 2.424 (weekly) or Jenkins LTS 2.414.2 from https://www.jenkins.io/download/
  4. 4. Stop the Jenkins service before performing the upgrade.
  5. 5. If using a WAR file, replace the jenkins.war file with the fixed version and restart.
  6. 6. If using a package manager (apt, yum, docker), update to the new version and restart the container/service.
  7. 7. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the Jenkins version at /about/ or in the UI footer.
  8. 8. Test that installed plugins are functional after the upgrade.
Caveat Standard upgrade precautions apply; review plugin compatibility and backup before upgrading

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

Fix this in Jenkins Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-43496 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