Security Resilience

CVE-2023-32985

Path Traversal in Jenkins Sidebar Link ≤ 2.2.1

High EPSSPath Traversal
Published
16 May 2023
Modified
23 January 2025
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 4.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.72 99.4th percentile
Risk Priority 70 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-32985 is a medium-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Jenkins Sidebar Link. Its CVSS base score is 4.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 0.6% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

The Jenkins Sidebar Link Plugin 2.2.1 and earlier contains a path traversal flaw (CWE-22) in a form validation method that does not restrict file paths supplied by users. This affects the Jenkins controller file system and permits an attacker to probe for the existence of arbitrary paths.

An attacker holding Overall/Read permission can submit crafted input during form validation to determine whether attacker-specified files exist on the controller, resulting in limited information disclosure with no impact on integrity or availability.

The Jenkins security advisory published on 2023-05-16 details the issue under SECURITY-3125 and provides guidance on mitigation through plugin updates.

EPSS for this CVE rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.1744 on 2025-12-11 before receding to the current value of 0.0136, indicating a period of increased exploitation interest after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access Control

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Jenkins Sidebar Link Plugin 2.2.1 and earlier does not restrict the path of files in a method implementing form validation, allowing attackers with Overall/Read permission to check for the existence of an attacker-specified file path on the Jenkins controller file…

more

system.

CWE(s)
CWE-22

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.006 DCSync Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interface (API)(Citation: Microsoft DRSR Dec 2017) (Citation: Microsoft GetNCCChanges) (Citati…
attack.mitre.org →
T1016.001 Internet Connection Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may check for Internet connectivity on compromised systems.
attack.mitre.org →
T1018 Remote System Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of other systems by IP address, hostname, or other logical identifier on a network that may be used for Lateral Movement from the current system.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-2196Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2023-41930Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2023-37960Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2024-23904Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2024-54004Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2023-24455Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2023-24449Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2024-5273Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2024-23899Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2026-42520Same vendor: Jenkins

Affected Assets

jenkins
sidebar link
≤ 2.2.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.3.2

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-22

Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.

PR.AA-05 none match
blocks

PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

References