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Confluence Data CenterApplication · Atlassian

CVE-2024-21678

HIGH · 8.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-02-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.19.19 / 8.5.5 or later.
See remediation →
91/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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 High severity Stored XSS vulnerability was introduced in version 2.7.0 of Confluence Data Center. This Stored XSS vulnerability, with a CVSS Score of 8.5, allows an authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary HTML or JavaScript code on a victims browser which has high impact to confidentiality, low impact to integrity, no impact to availability, and requires no user interaction. Data Center Atlassian recommends that Confluence Data Center customers upgrade to the latest version. If you are unable to do so, upgrade your instance to one of the specified supported fixed versions: ||Affected versions||Fixed versions|| |from 8.7.0 to 8.7.1|8.8.0 recommended or 8.7.2| |from 8.6.0 to 8.6.1|8.8.0 recommended| |from 8.5.0 to 8.5.4 LTS|8.8.0 recommended or 8.5.5 LTS or 8.5.6 LTS| |from 8.4.0 to 8.4.5|8.8.0 recommended or 8.5.6 LTS| |from 8.3.0 to 8.3.4|8.8.0 recommended or 8.5.6 LTS| |from 8.2.0 to 8.2.3|8.8.0 recommended or 8.5.6 LTS| |from 8.1.0 to 8.1.4|8.8.0 recommended or 8.5.6 LTS| |from 8.0.0 to 8.0.4|8.8.0 recommended or 8.5.6 LTS| |from 7.20.0 to 7.20.3|8.8.0 recommended or 8.5.6 LTS| |from 7.19.0 to 7.19.17 LTS|8.8.0 recommended or 8.5.6 LTS or 7.19.18 LTS or 7.19.19 LTS| |from 7.18.0 to 7.18.3|8.8.0 recommended or 8.5.6 LTS or 7.19.19 LTS| |from 7.17.0 to 7.17.5|8.8.0 recommended or 8.5.6 LTS or 7.19.19 LTS| |Any earlier versions|8.8.0 recommended or 8.5.6 LTS or 7.19.19 LTS| Server Atlassian recommends that Confluence Server customers upgrade to the latest 8.5.x LTS version. If you are unable to do so, upgrade your instance to one of the specified supported fixed versions:   ||Affected versions||Fixed versions|| |from 8.5.0 to 8.5.4 LTS|8.5.5 LTS or 8.5.6 LTS recommended | |from 8.4.0 to 8.4.5|8.5.6 LTS recommended| |from 8.3.0 to 8.3.4|8.5.6 LTS recommended| |from 8.2.0 to 8.2.3|8.5.6 LTS recommended| |from 8.1.0 to 8.1.4|8.5.6 LTS recommended| |from 8.0.0 to 8.0.4|8.5.6 LTS recommended| |from 7.20.0 to 7.20.3|8.5.6 LTS recommended| |from 7.19.0 to 7.19.17 LTS|8.5.6 LTS recommended or 7.19.18 LTS or 7.19.19 LTS| |from 7.18.0 to 7.18.3|8.5.6 LTS recommended or 7.19.19 LTS| |from 7.17.0 to 7.17.5|8.5.6 LTS recommended or 7.19.19 LTS| |Any earlier versions|8.5.6 LTS recommended or 7.19.19 LTS| See the release notes ([https://confluence.atlassian.com/doc/confluence-release-notes-327.html]). You can download the latest version of Confluence Data Center from the download center ([https://www.atlassian.com/software/confluence/download-archives]). This vulnerability was reported via our Bug Bounty program.

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 Stored XSS vulnerability in Atlassian Confluence Data Center and Server. An authenticated attacker can inject malicious HTML or JavaScript code that gets stored in the application and executes in victims' browsers when they view the affected content, without requiring any user interaction.

MitigationUpgrade Confluence to version 8.8.0 (recommended), 8.5.6 LTS, or another supported fixed version listed in the advisory.

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:< 7.19.19>= 7.20.0, < 8.5.5>= 8.6.0, < 8.7.2
Confluence ServerApplication
Affected:< 7.19.19>= 7.20.0, < 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
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/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 Confluence installation version
    Access the Confluence admin console or check the confluence/WEB-INF/atlassian-bundled-plugins or the about/confluence page. Alternatively, check the installation directory for a version file or run: confluence --version if CLI available. In the admin UI, go to General Configuration or About Confluence to see the exact version number.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 7.19.19, OR between 7.20.0 and 8.5.5 inclusive, OR between 8.6.0 and 8.7.2 inclusive (for Data Center). Server versions below 7.19.19 or between 7.20.0 and 8.5.5 are vulnerable.
  2. Confirm Confluence edition (Data Center or Server)
    In the Confluence admin UI, navigate to General Configuration or Troubleshooting and select About Confluence. The edition type is displayed there. Alternatively, check your license information or installation files.
    Affected if The installation is Atlassian Confluence Data Center or Server (both are affected; Confluence Cloud is not listed as affected in this CVE).
  3. Verify user authentication is enabled
    In Confluence admin, go to User Management or Security Settings and confirm that user registration or external directory integration is active. Check that Confluence allows authenticated user accounts to create or edit content (pages, blog posts, comments).
    Affected if Confluence permits authenticated users to create or edit content. The CVE requires an authenticated attacker to inject the malicious script.
  4. Inspect for suspicious stored content
    Search Confluence pages, blog posts, and comments for unusual script tags, javascript: URLs, or event handlers (onload, onerror, onclick) in user-contributed content. Use the Confluence search functionality or query the CONFLOOSE and CONTENT tables in the database for patterns like '<script', 'javascript:', or 'on[a-z]+='.
    Affected if Any page, blog post, or comment contains unsanitized HTML or JavaScript that was not intentionally added by administrators, indicating potential exploitation.

You are affected if your Confluence Data Center or Server version falls within any of the vulnerable ranges listed AND your installation allows authenticated users to create or edit content.

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 7.19.19 / 8.5.5 / 8.7.2 or later
Fixed in 7.19.198.5.58.7.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Confluence to version 8.8.0 (recommended), 8.5.6 LTS, or another supported fixed version listed in the advisory.

Recommended fix High confidence

8.8.0 (Data Center) or 8.5.6 LTS (Server)

  1. 1. Back up your Confluence Data Center or Server instance, including database and attachments
  2. 2. Review the Confluence upgrade guide and release notes for the target version
  3. 3. Download the recommended fixed version (8.8.0 for Data Center or 8.5.6 LTS for Server) from the Atlassian download center
  4. 4. Stop the Confluence service
  5. 5. Run the installer or apply the upgrade following Atlassian's standard upgrade procedure
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade was successful and test critical functionality
  7. 7. Confirm the new version by checking the Confluence administration console
Caveat Review Confluence release notes for any breaking changes between your current version and the target version; major version upgrades may require additional migration steps

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

Fix this in Confluence Data Center Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,880
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,808.

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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-2024-21678 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