CVE-2022-41239 is a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability found in the Jenkins DotCi Plugin version 2.40.00 and earlier. The vulnerability arises because the plugin does not properly escape the GitHub user name parameter when displaying commit notifications in the build cause. This improper sanitization allows an attacker to inject malicious scripts that get stored and subsequently executed in the context of users viewing the build cause information within Jenkins. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79, which pertains to improper neutralization of input during web page generation, leading to XSS. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.4 (medium severity), with the vector indicating network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), requiring privileges (PR:L), user interaction (UI:R), scope changed (S:C), and impacts on confidentiality and integrity but not availability (C:L/I:L/A:N). Exploitation requires an attacker to have some level of privileges on the Jenkins instance and to trick a user into interacting with the malicious content. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the vulnerability could be leveraged by insiders or attackers who have gained limited access to the Jenkins environment to execute scripts that could steal session tokens, perform actions on behalf of users, or pivot further into the network. Since Jenkins is widely used for continuous integration and deployment pipelines, exploitation could lead to compromised build processes or leakage of sensitive project information.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk primarily to the confidentiality and integrity of their CI/CD environments. Jenkins is extensively used across Europe in software development, including in critical infrastructure, finance, and government sectors. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability could execute malicious scripts in the context of Jenkins users, potentially leading to session hijacking, unauthorized actions within Jenkins, or injection of malicious code into build pipelines. This could result in compromised software builds, leakage of proprietary code, or disruption of development workflows. Given the interconnected nature of modern DevOps environments, such an attack could cascade into broader network compromise or supply chain attacks. The requirement for some level of privileges and user interaction limits the ease of exploitation but does not eliminate risk, especially in environments with many users or where access controls are lax. European organizations with stringent data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR) must consider the confidentiality impact seriously, as leakage of personal or sensitive data through compromised build systems could lead to regulatory penalties and reputational damage.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should: 1) Immediately update the Jenkins DotCi Plugin to a version where this vulnerability is fixed; if no patch is available, consider disabling or removing the plugin until a fix is released. 2) Implement strict access controls on Jenkins instances to limit who can trigger builds or modify build causes, minimizing the risk of malicious input. 3) Enforce the principle of least privilege for Jenkins users, ensuring that only trusted users have permissions that could be leveraged to exploit this vulnerability. 4) Enable Content Security Policy (CSP) headers in Jenkins to reduce the impact of XSS attacks by restricting the execution of unauthorized scripts. 5) Monitor Jenkins logs and build cause data for suspicious input patterns or unexpected script tags. 6) Educate Jenkins users to be cautious when interacting with build cause information, especially if unexpected or untrusted commits appear. 7) Regularly audit and sanitize all user-supplied inputs in Jenkins plugins and configurations to prevent similar vulnerabilities. 8) Consider network segmentation to isolate Jenkins servers from critical production environments to limit lateral movement if compromise occurs.