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JiraApplication · Atlassian

CVE-2020-4024

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-07-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.5.5 / 8.8.2 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 attachment download resource in Atlassian Jira Server and Data Center before 8.5.5, and from 8.6.0 before 8.8.2, and from 8.9.0 before 8.9.1 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary HTML or JavaScript via a Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability issue attachments with a vnd.wap.xhtml+xml content type.

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

A reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in the attachment download resource of Atlassian Jira Server and Data Center. Attackers can inject arbitrary HTML or JavaScript through issue attachments that use a vnd.wap.xhtml+xml content type, allowing execution in the context of other users' browsers.

MitigationUpgrade Jira to version 8.5.5, 8.8.2, 8.9.1 or later to patch this vulnerability. As a temporary workaround, restrict or sanitize attachment content types and implement Content Security Policy headers.

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:< 8.5.5
Jira Data CenterApplication
Affected:>= 8.6.0, < 8.8.2>= 8.9.0, < 8.9.1
Jira ServerApplication
Affected:>= 8.6.0, < 8.8.2>= 8.9.0, < 8.9.1
Jira Software Data CenterApplication
Affected:< 8.5.5

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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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 checks

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

  1. Identify Jira version
    Log in as an administrator and navigate to the About page (typically at /secure/About.jspa) or use the REST API at /rest/api/2/serverInfo to retrieve the version number
    Affected if The installed version falls outside the safe versions: Jira < 8.5.5, Jira Data Center/Server 8.6.0 to < 8.8.2, or 8.9.0 to < 8.9.1 are vulnerable
  2. Confirm attachment module is enabled
    Navigate to Jira Administration > Attachments (or check the presence of the attachments directory in the Jira home directory) to verify the attachment feature is active
    Affected if Attachments are enabled and the version is vulnerable as identified above
  3. Check for XHTML attachment content type handling
    Inspect Jira's configured MIME types and content type mappings, typically found in the application or servlet configuration, for the vnd.wap.xhtml+xml content type
    Affected if The content type vnd.wap.xhtml+xml is permitted and the application reflects this type in attachment download URLs without sanitization
  4. Review existing attachments for vulnerable content types
    Use Jira's issue search or database queries on the attachments table to identify any attachments where the mimetype or file extension corresponds to vnd.wap.xhtml+xml or XHTML content
    Affected if Any attachments with XHTML or wap.xhtml+xml content type exist in the system and the version is vulnerable

A user is affected if their Jira installation version is vulnerable (less than 8.5.5, or between 8.6.0-8.8.1, or 8.9.0) AND the attachment download feature is enabled, allowing reflected XSS via malicious attachment content types.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 8.5.5 / 8.8.2 / 8.9.1 or later
Fixed in 8.5.58.8.28.9.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Jira to version 8.5.5, 8.8.2, 8.9.1 or later to patch this vulnerability. As a temporary workaround, restrict or sanitize attachment content types and implement Content Security Policy headers.

Fix this in Jira Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2020-4024 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