CVE-2025-68702 identifies a cryptographic vulnerability in the samrocketman Jervis library, which is widely used to facilitate Job DSL plugin scripts and shared Jenkins pipeline libraries. The root cause is an incorrect padding implementation during cryptographic operations involving SHA-256 hashes. Specifically, Jervis versions prior to 2.2 use padLeft(32, '0') when they should use padLeft(64, '0'), since SHA-256 outputs 32 bytes, which correspond to 64 hexadecimal characters. This discrepancy leads to the use of a broken or risky cryptographic algorithm, classified under CWE-327. The incorrect padding can cause hash values to be truncated or malformed, potentially weakening the cryptographic strength and allowing attackers to manipulate or forge pipeline scripts or secrets that rely on these hashes for integrity verification. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable without authentication or user interaction, as indicated by the CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N). The impact on confidentiality is none, but integrity is highly impacted, as attackers could alter pipeline behavior or inject malicious code. Availability is not affected. No known exploits have been reported in the wild yet, but the high CVSS score (8.7) reflects the criticality of the flaw. The issue was publicly disclosed in January 2026 and fixed in Jervis version 2.2. Organizations using Jenkins pipelines with Jervis versions below 2.2 should urgently upgrade to mitigate this vulnerability.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the integrity of CI/CD pipelines that rely on Jenkins and the Jervis library. Compromised pipeline scripts could lead to unauthorized code execution, injection of malicious payloads, or manipulation of build and deployment processes. This can result in the deployment of backdoored software, data breaches, or disruption of critical services. Given the widespread use of Jenkins in European enterprises, especially in technology, finance, and manufacturing sectors, the vulnerability could have far-reaching consequences. The lack of required authentication or user interaction lowers the barrier for exploitation, increasing the threat level. While confidentiality is not directly impacted, the integrity compromise can indirectly lead to data exposure or system compromise. Organizations involved in critical infrastructure, software development, or cloud services are particularly at risk. Failure to patch could also lead to compliance violations under regulations like GDPR if the vulnerability is leveraged to exfiltrate personal data.

European organizations should immediately upgrade all instances of the Jervis library to version 2.2 or later to remediate the vulnerability. In addition to upgrading, organizations should audit their Jenkins pipeline scripts and Job DSL configurations for any signs of tampering or anomalies that could indicate exploitation attempts. Implement strict access controls and monitoring on Jenkins environments to detect unauthorized changes. Employ cryptographic verification of pipeline scripts and artifacts where possible to ensure integrity. Regularly review and update CI/CD toolchains to incorporate security patches promptly. Consider isolating Jenkins environments and limiting network exposure to reduce attack surface. Finally, integrate security scanning tools that can detect usage of vulnerable Jervis versions and enforce compliance with secure software supply chain practices.