CVE-2025-53657 is a vulnerability identified in the Jenkins ReadyAPI Functional Testing Plugin versions 1.11 and earlier. The core issue is the failure to mask sensitive information—specifically SLM License Access Keys, client secrets, and passwords—on the job configuration form within Jenkins. This lack of masking means that any user with access to the Jenkins job configuration page can view these secrets in plaintext. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-522, which pertains to insufficiently protected credentials. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.3 (medium), reflecting that the vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network (AV:N) with low attack complexity (AC:L), requiring low privileges (PR:L) but no user interaction (UI:N). The impact is limited to confidentiality loss (C:L) without affecting integrity or availability. Since Jenkins is widely used for continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD), exposure of these credentials could allow attackers to misuse license keys or client secrets, potentially leading to unauthorized access to other integrated systems or services. No patches or fixes have been published yet, and no known exploits are reported in the wild. The vulnerability highlights the importance of secure handling of secrets in CI/CD environments and the risks posed by inadequate UI protections in plugins.

For European organizations, the exposure of license keys and client secrets in Jenkins can lead to unauthorized access to critical testing tools and potentially other integrated services that rely on these credentials. This can result in intellectual property theft, disruption of automated testing workflows, and potential lateral movement within the network. Organizations in sectors such as software development, financial services, telecommunications, and manufacturing, which heavily rely on Jenkins for automation, are particularly at risk. Confidentiality breaches could undermine compliance with GDPR and other data protection regulations, leading to legal and reputational consequences. Although the vulnerability does not directly affect system integrity or availability, the compromise of credentials can be a stepping stone for more severe attacks. The medium severity score indicates a moderate risk that should be addressed promptly to prevent escalation.

1. Immediately restrict access to Jenkins instances and the ReadyAPI Functional Testing Plugin configuration pages to trusted administrators only. 2. Implement role-based access control (RBAC) to limit who can view or modify job configurations containing sensitive credentials. 3. Regularly audit Jenkins plugins and job configurations for exposed secrets and remove or rotate any credentials found in plaintext. 4. Use Jenkins credentials management features or external secret management tools (e.g., HashiCorp Vault, Azure Key Vault) to store sensitive information securely instead of embedding them directly in job configurations. 5. Monitor Jenkins logs and access patterns for unusual activity that could indicate attempts to harvest credentials. 6. Stay updated with Jenkins and plugin vendor announcements for patches or updates addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available. 7. Educate development and operations teams about the risks of exposing secrets in CI/CD environments and enforce secure coding and configuration practices.