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JiraApplication · Atlassian

CVE-2020-14172

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-07-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.13.0 / 8.5.0 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
This issue exists to document that a security improvement in the way that Jira Server and Data Center use velocity templates has been implemented. The way in which velocity templates were used in Atlassian Jira Server and Data Center in affected versions allowed remote attackers to achieve remote code execution via insecure deserialization, if they were able to exploit a server side template injection vulnerability. The affected versions are before version 7.13.0, from version 8.0.0 before 8.5.0, and from version 8.6.0 before version 8.8.1.

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 exists in Atlassian Jira Server and Data Center where Velocity templates were used insecurely, allowing remote attackers to achieve RCE via insecure deserialization when exploiting a server-side template injection (SSTI) vulnerability. The fix involves security improvements to how Velocity templates are handled.

MitigationUpgrade Jira to version 7.13.0, 8.5.0, 8.8.1 or later to obtain the security improvement that prevents SSTI-to-RCE via deserialization.

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:< 7.13.0>= 8.0.0, < 8.5.0>= 8.6.0, < 8.8.1
Jira Software Data CenterApplication
Affected:< 7.13.0>= 8.0.0, < 8.5.0>= 8.6.0, < 8.8.1

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. Identify Jira version
    Check the installed Jira version via the About page ( Administration > System > Troubleshooting and support > About ) or by viewing the atlassian-jira/WEB-INF/lib directory for the jira-core jar file name which contains the version number.
    Affected if The installed version is < 7.13.0 OR >= 8.0.0 and < 8.5.0 OR >= 8.6.0 and < 8.8.1
  2. Verify template access
    Confirm that the web interface is accessible and that users can access the email template configuration area ( Administration > Mail > Templates ) or certain REST endpoints that process Velocity templates.
    Affected if Unauthenticated or low-privileged users can reach template rendering functions through exposed endpoints
  3. Check for template injection points
    Review custom email templates or Look and Feel customizations that use Velocity syntax. The vulnerability can be triggered through the email template editor or certain view buffers.
    Affected if Custom Velocity template content is present in email templates or Look and Feel customizations that could be manipulated
  4. Inspect Atlassian SDK or installation logs
    If available, review the installation logs or use the Atlassian SDK command 'jira --version' from the installation directory to confirm the exact version string.
    Affected if Version output matches any of the vulnerable ranges listed

The environment is affected if Jira is running a version that falls within < 7.13.0, >= 8.0.0 to < 8.5.0, or >= 8.6.0 to < 8.8.1 AND the template rendering feature is accessible to the attacking user.

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 7.13.0 / 8.5.0 / 8.8.1 or later
Fixed in 7.13.08.5.08.8.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Jira to version 7.13.0, 8.5.0, 8.8.1 or later to obtain the security improvement that prevents SSTI-to-RCE via deserialization.

Recommended fix High confidence

8.8.1 (or later 8.x release); alternatively 7.13.0 for 7.x branch or 8.5.0 for 8.0.0-8.4.x

  1. Review Atlassian's upgrade documentation and release notes for your target version (8.8.1 or later, 7.13.0, or 8.5.0)
  2. Ensure you have a complete backup of your Jira database and configuration files before proceeding
  3. If upgrading across major versions (e.g., 7.x to 8.x), review the migration guide and breaking changes
  4. Stop the Jira application service
  5. Install the new version of Jira Server or Data Center
  6. Start the Jira application service
  7. Verify the upgrade was successful by accessing Jira and checking the version in About Jira
  8. Test critical functionality to ensure the upgrade did not break existing workflows

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

Fix this in Jira Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,400
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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-2020-14172 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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