Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Rundeck 4.2.0 and 4.2.1 could store newly created or overwritten key storage credentials in plaintext instead of encrypted form. If attackers or insiders can access the backend storage, passwords or keys may be exposed. The vendor fixed the issue in 4.2.2 and 4.3.1, with 4.3.1 or later re-encrypting plaintext values after upgrade.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority where Rundeck stores operational secrets for production automation. The issue may expose credentials without disrupting service, so absence of outage is not reassuring. Prioritize version inventory, upgrade, and review of secrets written during the vulnerable window.
Technical view
The Key Storage converter plugin mechanism was not enabled correctly in Rundeck 4.2.0 and 4.2.1. Deployments using any Storage Converter plugin may have bypassed the intended encryption layer for Key Storage writes. CVSS 3.1 is 7.5, driven by high confidentiality impact and no integrity or availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to Rundeck or PagerDuty Process Automation environments running 4.2.0 or 4.2.1 and using a Storage Converter plugin. The main risk is credentials created or overwritten during those versions being stored plaintext in backend storage.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not report active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV in the supplied bundle. Exploitation depends on access to Rundeck backend storage containing affected key storage values.
Researcher notes
Version 4.3.0 is described as not vulnerable, but it does not include the patch that re-encrypts plaintext values left by 4.2.0 or 4.2.1. Validation should focus on vulnerable-version usage history, Storage Converter plugin usage, and key storage write activity.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade affected 4.2.0 or 4.2.1 systems to 4.2.2, 4.3.1, or later.
- Prefer 4.3.1 or later when plaintext values may need automatic re-encryption.
- Temporarily disable write access to key storage via ACLs until upgrade is complete.
- Restore key storage write access only after applying the vendor-fixed version.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Rundeck and PagerDuty Process Automation versions across environments.
- Identify systems that used Storage Converter plugins on 4.2.0 or 4.2.1.
- Check whether credentials were created or overwritten while vulnerable versions were running.
- Confirm upgraded systems are on 4.2.2, 4.3.1, or later.
- Review vendor guidance before deciding on credential rotation or storage cleanup.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
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ATT&CK lookup starting points
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CWE-256: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCWE-522: Credential and account abuse lookup
Authentication and credential weaknesses can make valid-account abuse and credential telemetry useful review starting points. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-31044 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N3.93.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/rundeck/rundeck/security/advisories/GHSA-hprf-rrwq-jm5cCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.