The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-53655 affects the Jenkins Statistics Gatherer Plugin version 2.0.3 and earlier. The core issue is that the AWS Secret Key, a highly sensitive credential used for authenticating and authorizing AWS API requests, is not masked in the plugin's global configuration form. This means that anyone with access to the Jenkins configuration UI or configuration files can view the AWS Secret Key in plaintext. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-256 (Plaintext Storage of a Password) and has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3, indicating medium severity. The CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N) shows that the vulnerability can be exploited remotely without authentication or user interaction, but it only impacts confidentiality (partial disclosure of credentials) without affecting integrity or availability. The exposure of AWS Secret Keys can lead to unauthorized access to AWS resources, enabling attackers to perform actions such as data exfiltration, resource manipulation, or launching further attacks within the cloud environment. Although no exploits have been reported in the wild yet, the risk remains significant due to the sensitive nature of the exposed credentials. The vulnerability is particularly relevant for organizations using Jenkins for continuous integration and deployment pipelines that integrate with AWS services. The lack of masking is a design flaw that should be addressed by the plugin maintainers through a patch or update. Until then, organizations must implement compensating controls to restrict access to Jenkins configuration and monitor for suspicious activity involving AWS credentials.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability is primarily the risk of AWS credential leakage, which can lead to unauthorized access to cloud resources. This could result in data breaches, unauthorized modification or deletion of cloud assets, increased cloud costs due to resource misuse, and potential compliance violations under regulations like GDPR if personal data is involved. Organizations relying heavily on AWS for critical infrastructure or sensitive data processing are at greater risk. The vulnerability's ease of exploitation without authentication means that any attacker who gains access to Jenkins UI or configuration files can capture the AWS Secret Key. This elevates the threat level in environments where Jenkins access controls are weak or compromised. Additionally, the exposure could facilitate lateral movement within an organization's cloud environment, amplifying the potential damage. The medium severity rating reflects the limited scope of impact to confidentiality, but the critical nature of AWS credentials means the actual operational risk can be substantial if exploited. European entities with cloud-heavy DevOps practices must prioritize addressing this vulnerability to prevent potential cloud security incidents.

1. Immediately restrict access to the Jenkins global configuration interface to trusted administrators only, using network segmentation and strong authentication mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication (MFA). 2. Monitor Jenkins access logs for any unauthorized or suspicious access attempts to the configuration pages. 3. Until an official patch is released, consider removing or disabling the Statistics Gatherer Plugin if it is not essential to your CI/CD pipeline. 4. Rotate AWS Secret Keys that have been configured in Jenkins to invalidate any potentially exposed credentials. 5. Implement AWS IAM policies with least privilege principles to limit the impact of any leaked credentials. 6. Use Jenkins credentials management features or secret management tools that properly mask and encrypt sensitive information instead of storing secrets in plugin configuration forms. 7. Stay informed about updates from the Jenkins project and apply patches promptly once available. 8. Conduct regular security audits of Jenkins plugins and configurations to detect similar issues proactively.