CVE-2022-41246 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting the Jenkins Worksoft Execution Manager Plugin versions 10.0.3.503 and earlier. The core issue is a missing permission check that allows attackers who have Overall/Read permission on a Jenkins instance to exploit the plugin to connect to an attacker-specified URL using credentials IDs that the attacker has obtained through other means. This vulnerability arises because the plugin does not properly verify permissions before allowing the use of stored credentials, enabling an attacker to misuse these credentials to access external resources or services. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), indicating that the plugin fails to enforce proper authorization controls. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 6.5, reflecting a medium severity with network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), requiring privileges (PR:L) but no user interaction (UI:N). The impact is primarily on confidentiality, as attackers can exfiltrate credentials stored in Jenkins, but it does not affect integrity or availability. There are no known exploits in the wild at the time of publication, and no official patches are linked in the provided data. The vulnerability requires that the attacker already have Overall/Read permission in Jenkins, which is a relatively high privilege level but still lower than administrative privileges. This means that insider threats or attackers who have compromised lower-level accounts could leverage this vulnerability to escalate access to sensitive credentials. The exploitation involves the attacker specifying a URL and credentials ID to which the plugin connects, potentially allowing the attacker to capture or misuse these credentials externally. This vulnerability highlights the importance of strict permission checks in CI/CD plugins that handle sensitive credentials.

For European organizations using Jenkins with the Worksoft Execution Manager Plugin, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the confidentiality of stored credentials, which may include access tokens, passwords, or API keys used in automated build and deployment pipelines. Compromise of these credentials could lead to unauthorized access to critical infrastructure, source code repositories, cloud environments, or production systems. Since Jenkins is widely used in software development and DevOps workflows across Europe, exploitation could facilitate lateral movement within networks, data breaches, or supply chain attacks. Organizations in regulated sectors such as finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure could face compliance violations and reputational damage if sensitive credentials are leaked. The requirement for Overall/Read permission limits the attack surface to users with some level of access, but insider threats or compromised accounts still represent a realistic vector. The absence of impact on integrity and availability reduces the risk of direct service disruption, but the confidentiality breach alone is serious given the sensitive nature of credentials involved.

1. Immediately review and restrict Jenkins user permissions to enforce the principle of least privilege, ensuring that only trusted users have Overall/Read permissions. 2. Monitor Jenkins audit logs for unusual access patterns or attempts to use the Worksoft Execution Manager Plugin to connect to external URLs. 3. If possible, disable or uninstall the Worksoft Execution Manager Plugin until a patched version is available. 4. Rotate all credentials stored in Jenkins that could be accessed via this plugin, especially if there is suspicion of compromise. 5. Implement network-level controls to restrict Jenkins server outbound connections to only trusted endpoints, limiting the ability of an attacker to exfiltrate credentials. 6. Keep Jenkins and all plugins up to date; monitor the Jenkins security advisories for an official patch or update addressing this vulnerability. 7. Conduct internal security awareness training to highlight the risks of privilege misuse and the importance of credential protection within CI/CD environments. 8. Consider implementing additional credential vaulting solutions external to Jenkins to reduce the exposure of sensitive secrets within the CI/CD platform.