CVE-2022-45392 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting the Jenkins NS-ND Integration Performance Publisher Plugin version 4.8.0.143 and earlier. The vulnerability arises because the plugin stores passwords in plaintext within the job configuration files (config.xml) on the Jenkins controller. These files are accessible to users or attackers who have Extended Read permissions within Jenkins or direct access to the Jenkins controller's file system. Since the passwords are unencrypted, an attacker with such access can easily extract sensitive credentials, potentially leading to unauthorized access to integrated systems or services that rely on these credentials. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-522, which pertains to the storage of passwords in a recoverable format. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.5, indicating a medium severity level, with an attack vector of network (remote), low attack complexity, requiring privileges (PR:L) but no user interaction, and impacting confidentiality with no effect on integrity or availability. No known exploits in the wild have been reported to date, and no patches are explicitly linked in the provided information, suggesting that mitigation may require manual intervention or plugin updates from the vendor. This vulnerability primarily affects Jenkins controllers running the vulnerable plugin versions, which are commonly used in continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines for software development and performance testing.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the confidentiality of sensitive credentials used within Jenkins CI/CD environments. If attackers gain Extended Read permissions or file system access, they can harvest plaintext passwords, potentially leading to lateral movement within the network, unauthorized access to critical infrastructure, or compromise of integrated third-party systems. Given the widespread adoption of Jenkins in European enterprises, especially in software development, telecommunications, finance, and manufacturing sectors, exploitation could disrupt development pipelines and expose sensitive operational data. Although the vulnerability does not directly impact system integrity or availability, the exposure of credentials can facilitate further attacks that may compromise these aspects indirectly. Organizations with stringent compliance requirements, such as GDPR, may face regulatory and reputational consequences if credential leakage leads to broader data breaches. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the ease of exploitation by any user with Extended Read privileges underscores the need for prompt mitigation.

1. Upgrade the Jenkins NS-ND Integration Performance Publisher Plugin to the latest version where this vulnerability is addressed, or apply any vendor-provided patches as soon as they become available. 2. Restrict Extended Read permissions strictly to trusted users; audit and minimize the number of users with such privileges to reduce the attack surface. 3. Implement strict access controls on the Jenkins controller file system to prevent unauthorized access to job configuration files. 4. Consider encrypting sensitive credentials using Jenkins credentials plugin or external secret management tools instead of storing them in job config.xml files. 5. Regularly audit Jenkins job configurations for plaintext passwords and remove or rotate any exposed credentials immediately. 6. Monitor Jenkins logs and access patterns for unusual activities that might indicate attempts to access or exfiltrate configuration files. 7. Employ network segmentation to isolate Jenkins controllers from less trusted network zones, limiting potential attacker movement. 8. Educate DevOps and security teams about secure credential management practices within CI/CD pipelines to prevent similar issues.