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Web Application ScreeningApplication · Qualys

CVE-2023-6149

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-01-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.0.11 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
Qualys Jenkins Plugin for WAS prior to version and including 2.0.11 was identified to be affected by a security flaw, which was missing a permission check while performing a connectivity check to Qualys Cloud Services. This allowed any user with login access to configure or edit jobs to utilize the plugin and configure potential a rouge endpoint via which it was possible to control response for certain request which could be injected with XXE payloads leading to XXE while processing the response data

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 Qualys Jenkins Plugin for WAS before version 2.0.11 lacks proper permission checks during connectivity validation to Qualys Cloud Services. Any authenticated user with job configuration access can configure a rogue endpoint to control responses, which can be injected with XXE payloads leading to XML External Entity injection when the plugin processes the response data.

MitigationUpgrade the Qualys Jenkins Plugin for WAS to version 2.0.11 or later, which includes proper permission checks and input validation to prevent XXE attacks.

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
Web Application ScreeningApplication
Affected:<= 2.0.11

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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 Qualys WAS Plugin is installed
    Navigate to Jenkins > Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins > Installed and search for 'Qualys Web Application Scanning' or 'Qualys WAS' in the plugin list
    Affected if The plugin does not appear in the installed plugins list - not affected
  2. Identify installed plugin version
    In the Installed Plugins list, locate the Qualys WAS plugin and note the Version column; or check Jenkins > Manage Jenkins > System Information for 'qualys-was-plugin' version
    Affected if Version is 2.0.11 or lower - vulnerable to CVE-2023-6149
  3. Check if job configuration access exists for non-admin users
    Navigate to Jenkins > Manage Jenkins > Manage Users and review which users have Job/Configure permissions; or review Matrix-based security settings under Manage Jenkins > Configure Global Security
    Affected if Non-admin users have Job/Configure permission - they could exploit this flaw
  4. Verify plugin is configured with Qualys endpoint
    Navigate to a Jenkins job that uses Qualys WAS, access its configuration page, and look for Qualys WAS build step or post-build action settings; check the 'Api Gateway' or 'Qualys Cloud Platform' URL field
    Affected if A Qualys API endpoint is configured in job settings - the plugin could be triggered to process malicious XML responses

A user is affected if the Qualys WAS plugin version is 2.0.11 or lower AND the plugin is configured for Qualys connectivity AND non-admin users have job configuration access, allowing them to inject XXE payloads via a rogue endpoint response.

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 2.0.11
Interim mitigation

Upgrade the Qualys Jenkins Plugin for WAS to version 2.0.11 or later, which includes proper permission checks and input validation to prevent XXE attacks.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to Qualys WAS Plugin version 2.0.12 or later

  1. 1. Identify all Jenkins instances with Qualys WAS Plugin installed
  2. 2. Check current plugin version via Jenkins Plugin Manager (Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins > Installed)
  3. 3. If version is 2.0.11 or earlier, navigate to Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins > Advanced
  4. 4. Under 'Upload Plugin', upload the updated Qualys WAS Plugin (.hpi file) from Qualys support portal, or enable automatic updates and check for available updates
  5. 5. Restart Jenkins after plugin update
  6. 6. Verify plugin version shows as 2.0.12 or later in the Installed Plugins list
  7. 7. Test that Qualys WAS scans still function correctly after upgrade

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

Fix this in Web Application Screening Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,570
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,512.

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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-2023-6149 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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