dbcve.org
JiraApplication · Atlassian

CVE-2019-20409

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-06-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.8.0 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The way in which velocity templates were used in Atlassian Jira Server and Data Center prior to version 8.8.0 allowed remote attackers to gain remote code execution if they were able to exploit a server side template injection vulnerability.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

This vulnerability in Atlassian Jira Server and Data Center allows remote code execution through improper velocity template handling. Attackers who can trigger a server-side template injection vulnerability can execute arbitrary code on the affected server, achieving full remote code execution.

MitigationUpgrade Jira Server or Data Center to version 8.8.0 or later to remediate the vulnerable velocity template configuration.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
JiraApplication
Affected:< 8.8.0
Jira Software Data CenterApplication
Affected:< 8.8.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine installed Jira version
    Access the Jira administration console and navigate to > Applications > Versions and licenses, or use the API endpoint GET /rest/api/2/serverInfo to retrieve the version number.
    Affected if The reported version is lower than 8.8.0 (for example, 8.7.x, 8.6.x, 8.5.x, or earlier major versions).
  2. Locate Jira installation directory
    On the server hosting Jira, locate the installation home directory (not the home directory containing data). Look for a file named installation.xml in the /db моджел or check the /about.html page in the web interface for version details.
    Affected if The version displayed in installation files or the web interface is < 8.8.0.
  3. Review velocity template configuration
    Examine the Jira installation for custom velocity templates in the /templates directory or any templates under the WEB-INF/classes/templates path. Check for .vm files that may have been modified or added to the application.
    Affected if Custom velocity templates exist that could be leveraged for server-side template injection.
  4. Identify exposed template injection endpoints
    Review application logs and web request logs for patterns involving template syntax (such as $ {, ${, #set, or #foreach) in user-controlled parameters. Monitor for unusual requests to fields that might process template expressions.
    Affected if Logs show template syntax being processed from untrusted input sources.

You are affected if your Jira Server or Data Center version is lower than 8.8.0 and an attacker can inject template syntax into input fields processed by the velocity template engine.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 8.8.0 or later
Fixed in 8.8.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Jira Server or Data Center to version 8.8.0 or later to remediate the vulnerable velocity template configuration.

Recommended fix High confidence

Jira/Jira Software Data Center 8.8.0 or later (recommend latest LTS or stable release)

  1. 1. Perform a full backup of your Jira database and configuration files
  2. 2. Download Jira Server or Jira Software Data Center version 8.8.0 or later from the official Atlassian website
  3. 3. Follow Atlassian's upgrade documentation to install the new version
  4. 4. Verify the upgrade was successful by logging into Jira
  5. 5. Confirm the velocity template injection vulnerability is patched by ensuring the version is 8.8.0 or higher
Caveat Review Atlassian's upgrade guide for Jira 8.x for any migration considerations specific to your instance

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Jira Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,200.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-20409 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-20409 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data