CVE-2020-2299 — active-directory
CRITICALCVE-2020-2299 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) vulnerability in org.jenkins-ci.plugins:active-directory. A fix is available for org.jenkins-ci.plugins:active-directory — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Improper Authentication in Jenkins Active Directory 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-2020-2299 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 376,715 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:active-directory☕org.jenkins-ci.plugins:active-directoryReal-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 Active Directory Plugin 2.19 and earlier allows attackers to log in as any user if a magic constant is used as the password.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.jenkins-ci.plugins:active-directory | ≥ 2.17&&< 2.20 | 2.20org.jenkins-ci.plugins:active-directory:2.20 |
| ☕Maven | org.jenkins-ci.plugins:active-directory | ≥ 1.44&&< 2.16.1 | 2.16.1org.jenkins-ci.plugins:active-directory:2.16.1 |
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:active-directory, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.jenkins-ci.plugins:active-directory to 2.20 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-2299 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-2020-2299 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2020-2299. 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-2020-2299 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2020-2299 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.