JiraApplication · Atlassian
CVE-2020-14168
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 · uneditedThe email client in Jira Server and Data Center before version 7.13.16, from 8.5.0 before 8.5.7, from 8.8.0 before 8.8.2, and from 8.9.0 before 8.9.1 allows remote attackers to access outgoing emails between a Jira instance and the SMTP server via man-in-the-middle (MITM) 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 confidenceThe email client in Jira Server and Data Center does not properly protect SMTP communications, allowing remote attackers on the same network segment to intercept outgoing emails between Jira and the SMTP server through a man-in-the-middle attack. This indicates either missing TLS encryption or improper certificate validation in the SMTP connection.
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
< 7.13.14
Jira Data CenterApplication
>= 8.5.0, < 8.5.5>= 8.8.0, < 8.8.2>= 8.9.0, < 8.9.1
Jira ServerApplication
>= 8.5.0, < 8.5.5>= 8.8.0, < 8.8.2>= 8.9.0, < 8.9.1
Jira Software Data CenterApplication
< 7.13.14CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Jira versionCheck the Jira version by logging into Jira as an administrator and navigating to Administration > System > Troubleshooting and support > System Info, or by checking the 'atlassian-jira/WEB-INF/classes/build.properties' file in the Jira home directory.Affected if The version is any of: < 7.13.14, >= 8.5.0 and < 8.5.5, >= 8.8.0 and < 8.8.2, or >= 8.9.0 and < 8.9.1.
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Verify SMTP is configuredNavigate to Administration > System > Mail > Incoming Mail or check the Jira configuration database for entries in the 'mailconfiguration' table indicating an SMTP server is configured.Affected if An SMTP server is configured and the Jira version falls within the affected ranges.
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Inspect SMTP TLS/SSL settingsReview the SMTP configuration in Administration > System > Mail > Outgoing Mail, checking whether TLS or SSL is enabled for the SMTP connection. This can also be verified in the database 'mailconfiguration' table by examining the 'tls' or 'secure' configuration fields if directly queried.Affected if TLS is disabled or set to 'false' in the SMTP configuration while the Jira version is within the affected ranges.
A user is affected if their Jira version falls within the specified vulnerable ranges AND they have SMTP configured without TLS enabled for outbound email connections.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor data7.13.148.5.58.8.2
Upgrade Jira Server/Data Center to version 7.13.16, 8.5.7, 8.8.2, 8.9.1 or later. Additionally, ensure SMTP connections use TLS with valid certificates and verify the network path between Jira and the SMTP server is trusted.
Fix this in Jira
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-14168 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-14168 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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