CVE-2022-41227 is a high-severity cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability affecting the Jenkins NS-ND Integration Performance Publisher Plugin version 4.8.0.129 and earlier. Jenkins is a widely used open-source automation server that facilitates continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD). The NS-ND Integration Performance Publisher Plugin is a Jenkins plugin designed to integrate performance testing results into Jenkins pipelines. The vulnerability allows an attacker to exploit the CSRF weakness to cause a Jenkins instance running this plugin to connect to an attacker-specified webserver using credentials that the attacker also specifies. This means that an attacker can trick an authenticated Jenkins user into executing unwanted actions without their consent, potentially leading to unauthorized connections to malicious servers. The CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8 indicates a high impact, with network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, but requiring user interaction. The vulnerability impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability since it can be used to exfiltrate sensitive data, manipulate build processes, or disrupt CI/CD pipelines. The plugin does not appear to have a patch link publicly available at the time of this report, and no known exploits in the wild have been reported yet. The underlying weakness is CWE-352, which is a common CSRF vulnerability where the application fails to properly verify the origin of requests, allowing attackers to forge requests on behalf of authenticated users. This vulnerability is particularly dangerous in Jenkins environments because Jenkins often has elevated privileges and access to critical development infrastructure and credentials. Exploiting this flaw could allow attackers to pivot into internal networks or compromise software supply chains.

For European organizations, especially those relying on Jenkins for their software development and deployment pipelines, this vulnerability poses a significant risk. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to internal systems, leakage of sensitive intellectual property, and disruption of automated build and deployment processes. This can result in financial losses, reputational damage, and compliance violations, particularly under GDPR if personal data is involved. Organizations in sectors such as finance, telecommunications, automotive, and critical infrastructure, which heavily depend on CI/CD automation, are at heightened risk. Additionally, the ability to connect to attacker-controlled servers using specified credentials could facilitate further attacks such as lateral movement, data exfiltration, or supply chain compromise. The requirement for user interaction (e.g., an authenticated Jenkins user visiting a malicious page) means that social engineering or phishing could be used as an attack vector, increasing the likelihood of exploitation in environments with less stringent user security awareness.

1. Immediately update the Jenkins NS-ND Integration Performance Publisher Plugin to the latest version once a patch is released by the Jenkins project. 2. Until a patch is available, restrict access to Jenkins instances to trusted networks and users only, using network segmentation and VPNs. 3. Implement strict Content Security Policy (CSP) and SameSite cookie attributes to help mitigate CSRF risks. 4. Educate Jenkins users about the risks of clicking on untrusted links or visiting suspicious websites while authenticated to Jenkins. 5. Enable and enforce Jenkins security best practices such as CSRF protection settings, user authentication, and role-based access control (RBAC). 6. Monitor Jenkins logs and network traffic for unusual outbound connections to unknown servers, which could indicate exploitation attempts. 7. Consider using web application firewalls (WAFs) that can detect and block CSRF attack patterns targeting Jenkins. 8. Review and audit Jenkins plugin usage regularly to minimize the attack surface by removing unnecessary or outdated plugins.