CVE-2019-16549 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.1) XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in org.jenkins-ci.plugins.m2release:m2release. A fix is available for org.jenkins-ci.plugins.m2release:m2release — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Jenkins Maven Release Plug-in Plugin XXE vulnerability
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2019-16549 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.jenkins-ci.plugins.m2release:m2releaseReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Jenkins Maven Release Plug-in Plugin retrieves XML from Nexus repository manager APIs. Maven Release Plug-in Plugin 0.16.1 and earlier does not configure the XML parser to prevent XML external entity (XXE) attacks. While Jenkins users without Overall/Administer permission are not allowed to configure a custom Nexus URL, this could still be exploited via man-in-the-middle attacks, especially if it’s not an HTTPS URL.
Additionally, a connection test form validation method does not require POST requests, resulting in a cross-site request forgery vulnerability. Combined, these two vulnerabilities allow attackers to have Jenkins parse crafted XML documents that use external entities for extraction of secrets from the Jenkins controller, server-side request forgery, or denial-of-service attacks.
Maven Release Plug-in Plugin 0.16.2 configures its XML parser to prevent XML external entity (XXE) attacks. It also now requires that requests to the connection test form validation method are done via POST, which protects from cross-site request forgery attacks.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.jenkins-ci.plugins.m2release:m2release | all versions | 0.16.2org.jenkins-ci.plugins.m2release:m2release:0.16.2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.jenkins-ci.plugins.m2release:m2release, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.jenkins-ci.plugins.m2release:m2release to 0.16.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2019-16549 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2019-16549 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2019-16549. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2019-16549 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2019-16549 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.