Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-32985

Path Traversal in Jenkins Sidebar Link ≤ 2.2.1

Published
16 May 2023
Modified
23 January 2025
Patch / 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

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 Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); 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)

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)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-23904Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2024-5273Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2024-23899Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2024-28151Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2023-37960Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2025-67643Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2023-24449Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2026-42520Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2023-41930Same vendor: Jenkins
CVE-2023-24455Same 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.

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
prevents

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
prevents

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.

finds

Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.

prevents

Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.

prevents

Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.

mitigates

Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.

References