# CVE-2019-16555: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity in Jenkins Build Failure Analyzer Plugin

> Attackers can cause a denial of service in Jenkins by submitting malicious regular expressions that cannot be interrupted during evaluation.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 17 Dec 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2hhc-f86x-x74f

## What is CVE-2019-16555?

CVE-2019-16555 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Jenkins Build Failure Analyzer Plugin, published on 17 Dec 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A user-supplied regular expression in Jenkins Build Failure Analyzer Plugin 1.24.1 and earlier was processed in a way that wasn't interruptible, allowing attackers to have Jenkins evaluate a regular expression without the ability to interrupt this process.

Weakness: CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-16555?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including com.sonyericsson.jenkins.plugins.bfa:build-failure-analyzer. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `com.sonyericsson.jenkins.plugins.bfa:build-failure-analyzer` | Maven | All versions | 1.24.2 |
| `com.sonyericsson.jenkins.plugins.bfa:build-failure-analyzer` | Maven | All versions | 1.24.2 |

Products: Jenkins Build Failure Analyzer.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-16555?

Upgrade com.sonyericsson.jenkins.plugins.bfa:build-failure-analyzer to 1.24.2 or later.

## Is CVE-2019-16555 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-16555 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Jenkins Build Failure Analyzer Plugin

- [CVE-2023-43500](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-43500/): Jenkins Build Failure Analyzer Plugin Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2019-16553](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16553/): Cross-Site Request Forgery in Jenkins Build Failure Analyzer Plugin (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-43501](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-43501/): Jenkins Build Failure Analyzer Plugin missing permission check (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2016-4988](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4988/): Cross-site Scripting in Jenkins Build Failure Analyzer plugin (medium 6.1)
- [CVE-2023-43499](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-43499/): Jenkins Build Failure Analyzer Plugin Cross-site Scripting vulnerability (medium 5.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-16555 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-16555 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Jenkins Build Failure Analyzer Plugin, published on 17 Dec 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-16555 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- com.sonyericsson.jenkins.plugins.bfa:build-failure-analyzer (Maven): affected all versions; fixed in 1.24.2
- com.sonyericsson.jenkins.plugins.bfa:build-failure-analyzer (Maven): affected all versions; fixed in 1.24.2

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16555/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16555/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-16555
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-16555
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-16555

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16555/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.