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Data CenterApplication · Atlassian

CVE-2021-39111

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.5.18 / 8.13.10 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 Editor plugin in Atlassian Jira Server and Data Center before version 8.5.18, from 8.6.0 before 8.13.10, and from version 8.14.0 before 8.18.2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary HTML or JavaScript via a Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the handling of supplied content such as from a PDF when pasted into a field such as the description field.

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 stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Atlassian Jira Server and Data Center's Editor plugin allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary HTML or JavaScript through content pasted (e.g., from PDF files) into fields such as the description field. The vulnerability stems from insufficient sanitization of pasted content in the editor component.

MitigationUpgrade Jira Server/Data Center to version 8.5.18 or later, 8.13.10 or later, or 8.18.2 or later to receive the patch. Alternatively, implement content filtering for pasted content in description fields as a compensating control.

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
Data CenterApplication
Affected:< 8.5.18
JiraApplication
Affected:< 8.5.18
Jira Data CenterApplication
Affected:>= 8.6.0, < 8.13.10>= 8.14.0, < 8.18.2
Jira ServerApplication
Affected:>= 8.6.0, < 8.13.10>= 8.14.0, < 8.18.2

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
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Check Jira version
    Navigate to Jira Administration > System > System Info or run the command: java -jar atlassian-jira-core*.jar --version. Alternatively, check the <jira-install>/atlassian-jira/WEB-INF/classes/build.properties file for the jira.version property.
    Affected if The installed version is less than 8.5.18, or falls between 8.6.0 and 8.13.10 (exclusive), or between 8.14.0 and 8.18.2 (exclusive)
  2. Identify Jira deployment type
    Confirm whether the instance is Jira Server, Jira Data Center, or Jira Core/Software by checking the system info page or the license details in Administration > Applications.
    Affected if The deployment type matches Atlassian Data Center or Atlassian Jira Server and the version falls into the affected ranges listed in the CVE
  3. Verify Editor plugin is active
    Navigate to Jira Administration > Apps > Manage apps and locate the 'Jira Editor' or 'Editor' plugin. Confirm its status is 'Enabled'.
    Affected if The Editor plugin is enabled, which is the default state and required for the vulnerability to be exploitable
  4. Confirm paste functionality is available
    Create or edit a test issue and verify that the description field accepts pasted content. This is enabled by default in Jira's rich text editor.
    Affected if The description field accepts pasted content, which is the default behavior and necessary for the XSS vector

The instance is affected if it runs a Jira Server or Data Center version that falls within the vulnerable ranges (< 8.5.18, 8.6.0 to < 8.13.10, or 8.14.0 to < 8.18.2) and has the Editor plugin enabled with paste functionality available (default configuration).

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 8.5.18 / 8.13.10 / 8.18.2 or later
Fixed in 8.5.188.13.108.18.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Jira Server/Data Center to version 8.5.18 or later, 8.13.10 or later, or 8.18.2 or later to receive the patch. Alternatively, implement content filtering for pasted content in description fields as a compensating control.

Recommended fix High confidence

8.5.18, 8.13.10, or 8.18.2 (or later stable release)

  1. 1. Identify current Jira version by navigating to Jira Administration > System > System Info
  2. 2. Determine if current version is affected: versions < 8.5.18, OR >= 8.6.0 and < 8.13.10, OR >= 8.14.0 and < 8.18.2
  3. 3. If affected, plan upgrade to a fixed release
  4. 4. Backup Jira database and home directory before upgrade
  5. 5. Test upgrade in staging/non-production environment first
  6. 6. Apply upgrade following Atlassian upgrade documentation
Caveat Standard Jira upgrade precautions apply - review Atlassian upgrade guide for version-specific considerations

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

Fix this in Data Center Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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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-2021-39111 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