CVE-2025-53675 is a security vulnerability identified in the Jenkins Warrior Framework Plugin version 1.2 and earlier. This plugin is used within Jenkins, a widely adopted open-source automation server that facilitates continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines. The vulnerability arises because the plugin stores passwords in plaintext within the job's config.xml files on the Jenkins controller. These config.xml files are configuration files that define job parameters and are stored on the Jenkins master node (controller). Storing passwords unencrypted in these files exposes sensitive credentials to any user who has either the Item/Extended Read permission within Jenkins or file system access to the Jenkins controller. The Item/Extended Read permission is a Jenkins authorization level that allows users to view job configurations without necessarily having full administrative rights. Consequently, an attacker or unauthorized user with this permission or file system access can easily extract plaintext passwords, potentially leading to further compromise of internal systems or services that rely on these credentials. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the vulnerability poses a significant risk due to the sensitive nature of the exposed data and the common use of Jenkins in enterprise environments. The vulnerability does not have an assigned CVSS score, and no patches or mitigation links have been provided yet, indicating that remediation may require manual intervention or waiting for an official update from the Jenkins project.

For European organizations, this vulnerability can have serious consequences. Jenkins is widely used across industries in Europe for automating software builds, testing, and deployment. Exposure of plaintext passwords can lead to unauthorized access to critical infrastructure, source code repositories, deployment environments, or third-party services integrated into the CI/CD pipeline. This can result in data breaches, intellectual property theft, disruption of software delivery processes, and potential introduction of malicious code into production environments. The risk is heightened in organizations with large development teams or complex permission structures where many users have read access to Jenkins jobs. Additionally, compliance requirements such as GDPR impose strict controls on the protection of sensitive information, and exposure of credentials could lead to regulatory penalties and reputational damage. The lack of encryption for stored passwords also undermines trust in the security posture of the affected Jenkins environments.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should take the following specific actions: 1) Immediately audit Jenkins instances to identify usage of the Warrior Framework Plugin version 1.2 or earlier. 2) Restrict Item/Extended Read permissions strictly to trusted users, minimizing the number of users who can view job configurations. 3) Limit file system access to the Jenkins controller to only essential administrative personnel and secure the underlying operating system with strong access controls and monitoring. 4) Remove or upgrade the vulnerable plugin to a patched version once available; if no patch exists, consider disabling or uninstalling the plugin until a fix is released. 5) Rotate any passwords stored in Jenkins config.xml files to new, securely stored credentials to prevent misuse of exposed secrets. 6) Implement credential management best practices such as using Jenkins Credentials Plugin with encrypted storage and avoid embedding plaintext passwords in job configurations. 7) Monitor Jenkins audit logs for unusual access patterns or unauthorized attempts to read job configurations. 8) Educate development and operations teams about the risks of storing sensitive information in plaintext within CI/CD tools.