CVE-2022-41254 is a security vulnerability identified in the Jenkins CONS3RT Plugin version 1.0.0 and earlier. The core issue stems from missing permission checks within the plugin, which allows attackers who have Overall/Read permission on the Jenkins instance to exploit the vulnerability. Specifically, these attackers can connect to an attacker-controlled HTTP server using credentials IDs that they have obtained through other means. By doing so, the attacker can effectively capture credentials stored within Jenkins. This vulnerability is classified under CWE-862, which relates to missing authorization checks. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.5, indicating a medium severity level. The vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N) indicates that the attack can be performed remotely over the network with low attack complexity, requires privileges equivalent to Overall/Read permission, does not require user interaction, and impacts confidentiality with high severity, but does not affect integrity or availability. The vulnerability does not appear to have known exploits in the wild at the time of publication. The lack of patch links suggests that either a patch was not yet available or not referenced in the provided data. The vulnerability allows an attacker with limited read permissions to escalate their access by leveraging the plugin's failure to enforce proper authorization checks, potentially leading to credential exposure and subsequent compromise of Jenkins-managed resources or pipelines.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the confidentiality of sensitive credentials stored within Jenkins environments. Jenkins is widely used across Europe for continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, especially in sectors such as finance, manufacturing, telecommunications, and government agencies. Exposure of credentials could lead to unauthorized access to critical infrastructure, source code repositories, cloud environments, or production systems. Given that the vulnerability requires only Overall/Read permission, which is often granted to a broad set of users or service accounts, the attack surface is considerable. The compromise of credentials could facilitate lateral movement within networks, data exfiltration, or sabotage of automated deployment processes. This could result in operational disruptions, intellectual property theft, regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR breaches), and reputational damage. The medium severity rating reflects the need for prompt remediation, especially in environments where Jenkins is integrated with sensitive or critical systems.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should: 1) Immediately review and restrict Jenkins user permissions, ensuring that Overall/Read permissions are granted only to trusted users and service accounts with a clear operational need. 2) Monitor and audit Jenkins logs for unusual access patterns or connections to external HTTP servers that could indicate exploitation attempts. 3) Implement network-level controls to restrict Jenkins server outbound HTTP connections to only trusted destinations, thereby limiting the ability of an attacker to redirect connections to malicious servers. 4) Apply the latest updates or patches from the Jenkins CONS3RT Plugin maintainers as soon as they become available. If no patch is available, consider disabling or uninstalling the CONS3RT Plugin until a secure version is released. 5) Employ credential vaulting and rotation policies to minimize the impact of potential credential exposure. 6) Conduct internal security awareness training to highlight the risks associated with excessive permissions and the importance of secure plugin management within Jenkins environments.