CVE-2020-2301 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.
Authentication cache in Active Directory Jenkins Plugin allows logging in with any password
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
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 implements two separate modes: Integration with ADSI on Windows, and an OS agnostic LDAP-based mode. Optionally, to reduce lookup time, a cache can be configured to remember user lookups and user authentications.
In Active Directory Plugin prior to 2.20 and 2.16.1, when run in Windows/ADSI mode, the provided password was not used when looking up an applicable cache entry. This allows attackers to log in as any user using any password while a successful authentication of that user is still in the cache.
As a workaround for this issue, the cache can be disabled.
Active Directory Plugin 2.20 and 2.16.1 includes the provided password in cache entry lookup.
Additionally, the Java system property hudson.plugins.active_directory.CacheUtil.noCacheAuth can be set to true to no longer cache user authentications.
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 | all versions | 2.16.1org.jenkins-ci.plugins:active-directory:2.16.1 |
Affected Products
active directoryjenkinsDetection & 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-2020-2301 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2020-2301 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.