CVE-2020-2226 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.4) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in org.jenkins-ci.plugins:matrix-auth. A fix is available for org.jenkins-ci.plugins:matrix-auth — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Stored XSS vulnerability in Jenkins Matrix Authorization Strategy Plugin
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-2020-2226 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 378,156 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:matrix-authReal-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
Matrix Authorization Strategy Plugin 2.6.1 and earlier does not escape user names shown in the permission table. This results in a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability. When using project-based matrix authorization, this vulnerability can be exploited by a user with Job/Configure or Agent/Configure permission, otherwise by users with Overall/Administer permission.
Matrix Authorization Strategy Plugin 2.6.2 escapes user names in the permission table.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.jenkins-ci.plugins:matrix-auth | all versions | 2.6.2org.jenkins-ci.plugins:matrix-auth:2.6.2 |
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:matrix-auth, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.jenkins-ci.plugins:matrix-auth to 2.6.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-2226 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-2020-2226 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2020-2226. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.11 | jenkins-2-plugins-0:3.11.1597310986-1.el7 | RHSA-2020:3541 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.3 | jenkins-2-plugins-0:4.3.1601981312-1.el7 | RHSA-2020:4265 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.4 | jenkins-2-plugins-0:4.4.1598545590-1.el7 | RHSA-2020:3625 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.5 | jenkins-2-plugins-0:4.5.1596698303-1.el7 | RHSA-2020:3453 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2020-2226 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2020-2226 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.