CVE-2018-20826 in JIRA
Summary
by MITRE
The inline-create rest resource in Jira before version 7.12.3 allows authenticated remote attackers to set the reporter in issues via a missing authorisation check.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/23/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-20826 represents a critical authorization flaw within Atlassian Jira's REST API implementation that affects versions prior to 7.12.3. This issue specifically targets the inline-create rest resource functionality, which enables users to create new issues through the application programming interface. The flaw stems from a missing authorization check that permits authenticated remote attackers to manipulate the reporter field of newly created issues, effectively allowing them to assign arbitrary users as reporters without proper permissions. This vulnerability operates at the intersection of improper authorization controls and weak input validation within the web application's API layer, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on Jira for issue tracking and project management.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the absence of proper access control validation when processing issue creation requests through the REST API. When an authenticated attacker submits a request to create a new issue using the inline-create resource, the system fails to verify whether the requesting user has the authority to set the reporter field to a specific user ID. This missing authorization check occurs at the application logic level rather than at the database or system level, making it particularly insidious as it bypasses normal permission enforcement mechanisms. The vulnerability can be leveraged by attackers who have gained access to legitimate user credentials, as they can then manipulate issue metadata to reflect false reporting relationships, potentially obscuring the true source of security incidents or creating misleading audit trails.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation and can significantly compromise incident response and forensic capabilities within organizations using affected Jira instances. Attackers can exploit this flaw to create false positive security alerts by assigning themselves or other users as reporters on issues they did not actually create, potentially leading to misdirected investigation efforts and wasted resources. The vulnerability also undermines the integrity of audit logs and reporting mechanisms that depend on accurate reporter information, which is particularly concerning for organizations subject to regulatory compliance requirements or security auditing processes. Additionally, this flaw can be combined with other vulnerabilities to create more sophisticated attack scenarios where attackers establish false narratives around security incidents, making it harder for security teams to identify genuine threats and respond appropriately.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading to Jira version 7.12.3 or later, which includes the necessary authorization checks to prevent unauthorized reporter assignment. The fix implemented by Atlassian addresses the root cause by enforcing proper access control validation before allowing modifications to the reporter field during issue creation. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive audits of their Jira instances to identify any potential exploitation that may have occurred prior to the patch deployment, particularly focusing on unusual reporter assignments or suspicious issue creation patterns. Additional mitigations include implementing network-level restrictions on REST API access, monitoring for anomalous API usage patterns, and ensuring that user accounts are properly managed with least privilege principles to minimize the potential impact of credential compromise. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-862, which describes improper authorization in security-critical applications, and represents a typical example of how missing authorization checks in web services can lead to significant operational and security consequences.