CVE-2017-18097 in JIRA
Summary
by MITRE
The Trello board importer resource in Atlassian Jira before version 7.6.1 allows remote attackers who can convince a Jira administrator to import their Trello board to inject arbitrary HTML or JavaScript via a cross site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the title of a Trello card.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/22/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-18097 represents a critical cross site scripting flaw within Atlassian Jira's Trello board importer functionality. This security weakness exists in Jira versions prior to 7.6.1 and specifically targets the import process that allows users to migrate data from Trello boards into Jira. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding of user-supplied data during the import operation, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute arbitrary code within the context of a victim's browser session.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when a Jira administrator imports a Trello board that contains malicious content in a card title. The importer component fails to properly sanitize or escape HTML characters and JavaScript code that might be present in the Trello card title field. This inadequate sanitization allows attackers to craft specially formatted card titles containing malicious scripts that execute when the imported data is rendered in the Jira interface. The vulnerability specifically affects the title field of Trello cards, making it a targeted vector for XSS exploitation.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to organizations using Jira for project management and collaboration. The attack requires social engineering to convince a Jira administrator to import a malicious Trello board, but once successful, the attacker gains the ability to execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the administrator's browser context. This could enable session hijacking, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, or the deployment of additional malicious payloads. The impact extends beyond individual user sessions to potentially compromise entire Jira instances and the sensitive project data they contain.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which defines Cross-Site Scripting as a weakness where untrusted data is sent to a user agent without proper validation or encoding, allowing attackers to inject malicious code. This weakness is particularly dangerous in web applications like Jira where administrators have elevated privileges and access to sensitive organizational data. The attack pattern corresponds to the ATT&CK technique T1566.002 for Phishing with Social Engineering, where attackers manipulate administrators into performing actions that result in code execution. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation, output encoding, and regular security updates to prevent exploitation of this vulnerability.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate deployment of Atlassian Jira version 7.6.1 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the XSS vulnerability. Security teams should also implement network-level protections such as web application firewalls that can detect and block malicious XSS payloads. Additionally, organizations should establish strict access controls for import operations and educate administrators about the risks of importing data from untrusted sources. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the Jira ecosystem and ensure comprehensive protection against similar attack vectors.