dbcve.org
Confluence Data CenterApplication · Atlassian

CVE-2024-21686

HIGH · 8.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-07-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.19.22 / 8.5.9 or later.
See remediation →
91/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
This High severity Stored XSS vulnerability was introduced in versions 7.13 of Confluence Data Center and Server. This Stored XSS vulnerability, with a CVSS Score of 7.3, allows an authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary HTML or JavaScript code on a victims browser which has high impact to confidentiality, high impact to integrity, no impact to availability, and requires user interaction. Atlassian recommends that Confluence Data Center and Server customers upgrade to latest version, if you are unable to do so, upgrade your instance to one of the specified supported fixed versions listed on this CVE See the release notes (https://confluence.atlassian.com/doc/confluence-release-notes-327.html). You can download the latest version of Confluence Data Center and Server 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 Confluence Data Center and Server version 7.13, where an authenticated attacker can inject malicious HTML or JavaScript code that persists on the server and executes in the browsers of users who view the compromised content.

MitigationUpgrade Confluence Data Center and Server to the latest version or one of the specified supported fixed versions listed in the Atlassian security 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:< 7.19.22>= 7.20.0, < 8.5.9>= 8.6.0, < 8.9.1
Confluence ServerApplication
Affected:< 7.19.22>= 7.20.0, < 8.5.9

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/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 type
    Determine whether the installation is Confluence Data Center or Confluence Server. Check the product name displayed in the application UI or in installation documentation.
    Affected if The installation is Confluence Data Center or Server (both are affected)
  2. Locate the installed Confluence version
    Access the Confluence administration console or check the About page (typically at /about confluence.action) to find the exact version number running in the environment.
    Affected if The exact version number cannot be determined or is not visible
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Cross-reference the installed version with the following affected ranges: Confluence Data Center and Server versions < 7.19.22, or >= 7.20.0 and < 8.5.9, or >= 8.6.0 and < 8.9.1
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: < 7.19.22, >= 7.20.0 and < 8.5.9, or >= 8.6.0 and < 8.9.1
  4. Verify user authentication is enabled
    Confirm that the Confluence instance has user authentication enabled, as this vulnerability requires an authenticated attacker to inject the malicious payload.
    Affected if User authentication is enabled and the version is within the affected ranges
  5. Review content creation capabilities
    Check which users have the ability to create or edit Confluence pages, as an authenticated user with content creation privileges could exploit this stored XSS.
    Affected if Multiple users or groups have content creation permissions and the version is affected

The environment is affected if Confluence Data Center or Server is running a version within the ranges < 7.19.22, >= 7.20.0 and < 8.5.9, or >= 8.6.0 and < 8.9.1, and user authentication is enabled.

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 7.19.22 / 8.5.9 / 8.9.1 or later
Fixed in 7.19.228.5.98.9.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Confluence Data Center and Server to the latest version or one of the specified supported fixed versions listed in the Atlassian security advisory.

Recommended fix High confidence

Confluence Data Center/Server 7.19.22, 8.5.9, 8.9.1, or latest stable release

  1. 1. Back up your Confluence database and home directory before upgrading
  2. 2. Review the Confluence upgrade guide and release notes at https://confluence.atlassian.com/doc/confluence-release-notes-327.html
  3. 3. Download the appropriate fixed version from https://www.atlassian.com/software/confluence/download-archives
  4. 4. Stop the Confluence application
  5. 5. Install the fixed version (7.19.22, 8.5.9, 8.9.1, or later) following Atlassian's upgrade documentation
  6. 6. Start Confluence and verify the upgrade was successful
  7. 7. Validate that the XSS vulnerability is no longer present

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

Fix this in Confluence Data Center Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,200.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-21686 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2024-21686 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