ZeroHour

CVE-2023-22518

KEV ransomware PoC large

Improper Authorization in Atlassian Confluence Data Center and Server

CISA: Atlassian Confluence Data Center and Server Improper Authorization Vulnerability

CVSS 3.1
9.8 critical
EPSS
100%p100
Published
()
KEV added
AI analysis

Atlassian Confluence Data Center and Server contain an improper authorization flaw (CWE-863) that can be triggered by an unauthenticated attacker sending crafted requests to a vulnerable instance. Successful exploitation gives the attacker control over the instance and can cause significant data loss, such as wiping or resetting the Confluence site, but there is no confidentiality impact because no data can be exfiltrated. Any organization running a self-managed Confluence Data Center or Server deployment is in scope. Exploitation is active: the flaw was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2023-11-07 with ransomware use noted, and EPSS assigns it a 100% probability of exploitation within 30 days. No public proof-of-concept is known, but ransomware operators are already using the flaw in the wild.

What to do: Upgrade every Confluence Data Center and Server instance to the patched release for your branch listed in Atlassian's advisory, per the CISA KEV required action (apply vendor mitigations or discontinue use). In the interim, restrict internet access to Confluence and check for signs of compromise such as unexpected instance resets, missing data, or ransom notes; restore from backups if data loss is detected.

Affected
Atlassian Confluence Data Center and Server
Estimated exposure
large≈70,000+ internet-exposed Confluence instances per public scans, likely 100k+ total self-managed installations — Estimate based on public internet-wide scan counts that have consistently shown tens of thousands of self-hosted Confluence servers exposed online, plus many additional enterprise deployments on internal networks that are not…

Order-of-magnitude estimate by the model from install counts, market share and public scan data it knows; verify before quoting.

Description

All versions of Confluence Data Center and Server are affected by this unexploited vulnerability. This Improper Authorization vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to reset Confluence and create a Confluence instance administrator account. Using this account, an attacker can then perform all administrative actions that are available to Confluence instance administrator leading to - but not limited to - full loss of confidentiality, integrity and availability. Atlassian Cloud sites are not affected by this vulnerability. If your Confluence site is accessed via an atlassian.net domain, it is hosted by Atlassian and is not vulnerable to this issue.

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability
Affected
Atlassian Confluence Data Center and Server
Required action
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Due date
Ransomware use
Known
Vendors
atlassian
Products
confluence data center, confluence server
Weakness
CWE-863
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

In the news