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Confluence Data CenterApplication · Atlassian

CVE-2021-43940

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-02-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.4.10 / 7.12.3 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Affected versions of Atlassian Confluence Server and Data Center allow authenticated local attackers to achieve elevated privileges on the local system via a DLL Hijacking vulnerability in the Confluence installer. This vulnerability only affects installations of Confluence Server and Data Center on Windows. The affected versions are before version 7.4.10, and from version 7.5.0 before 7.12.3.

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 is a DLL hijacking vulnerability in the Confluence Server and Data Center installer for Windows. An authenticated local attacker can place a malicious DLL in a location the installer loads from, achieving SYSTEM-level privileges when the installer executes. The vulnerability exists in Confluence versions before 7.4.10 and from 7.5.0 before 7.12.3.

MitigationUpgrade Confluence to version 7.4.10 or later, or version 7.12.3 or later. This is a Windows-only issue affecting the installer component.

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
Confluence Data CenterApplication
Affected:< 7.4.10>= 7.5.0, < 7.12.3
Confluence ServerApplication
Affected:< 7.4.10>= 7.5.0, < 7.12.3

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Confirm Windows environment
    Verify the operating system is Windows, as this vulnerability only affects the Confluence installer for Windows.
    Affected if The environment is running Windows and has Confluence installed via the Windows installer.
  2. Locate Confluence installation directory
    Check common installation paths such as C:\Atlassian\Confluence or C:\Program Files\Atlassian\Confluence, or look for the Confluence installation in Add/Remove Programs.
    Affected if Confluence is installed on Windows using the Windows installer.
  3. Identify installed Confluence version
    Open Add/Remove Programs or the Windows registry (HKLM\SOFTWARE\Atlassian\Confluence) to find the installed version number.
    Affected if A Confluence version is listed that falls below 7.4.10 or between 7.5.0 and 7.12.2 inclusive.
  4. Compare version to affected ranges
    Interpret the version number: vulnerable if < 7.4.10 OR (>= 7.5.0 AND < 7.12.3). Versions 7.4.10 through 7.4.x and 7.12.3 and later are not affected.
    Affected if The installed version is any release prior to 7.4.10, or any 7.5.x through 7.12.x release before 7.12.3.

A Windows Confluence installation is affected if the installed version is below 7.4.10 or falls between 7.5.0 and 7.12.2, indicating it was installed with a vulnerable Windows installer version.

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 7.4.10 / 7.12.3 or later
Fixed in 7.4.107.12.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Confluence to version 7.4.10 or later, or version 7.12.3 or later. This is a Windows-only issue affecting the installer component.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Confluence Server/Data Center 7.4.10 or 7.12.3 or later

  1. 1. Back up your Confluence database and home directory before upgrading
  2. 2. Download the appropriate Confluence Server or Data Center installer for your target version (7.4.10 or 7.12.3 or later) from the Atlassian website
  3. 3. If running Confluence as a Windows service, stop the Confluence service
  4. 4. Run the installer on the Windows server
  5. 5. Follow the on-screen upgrade instructions provided by the installer
  6. 6. After upgrade completes, start the Confluence service
  7. 7. Verify the Confluence instance is running correctly and accessible
  8. 8. Verify the version number matches the expected fixed version
Caveat Review Atlassian upgrade notes for database compatibility and plugin/app compatibility before upgrading; ensure adequate downtime window for migration

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

Fix this in Confluence Data Center Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2021-43940 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