CVE-2021-21624 is a medium-severity (CVSS 4.3) CWE-863 vulnerability in org.jenkins-ci.plugins:role-strategy. A fix is available for org.jenkins-ci.plugins:role-strategy — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Incorrect permission checks in Jenkins Role-based Authorization Strategy Plugin may allow accessing some items
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2021-21624 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 379,842 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
org.jenkins-ci.plugins:role-strategyReal-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
Items (like jobs) can be organized hierarchically in Jenkins, using the Folders Plugin or something similar. An item is expected to be accessible only if all its ancestors are accessible as well.
Role-based Authorization Strategy Plugin 3.1 and earlier does not correctly perform permission checks to determine whether an item should be accessible.
This allows attackers with Item/Read permission on nested items to access them, even if they lack Item/Read permission for parent folders.
Role-based Authorization Strategy Plugin 3.1.1 requires Item/Read permission on parent items to grant Item/Read permission on an individual item.
As a workaround in older releases, do not grant permissions on individual items to users who do not have access to parent items.
In case of problems, the Java system property com.michelin.cio.hudson.plugins.rolestrategy.RoleMap.checkParentPermissions can be set to false, completely disabling this fix.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.jenkins-ci.plugins:role-strategy | all versions | 3.1.1org.jenkins-ci.plugins:role-strategy:3.1.1 |
Affected Products
role-based authorization strategyjenkinsDetection & 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:role-strategy, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.jenkins-ci.plugins:role-strategy to 3.1.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-21624 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2021-21624 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.