CVE-2019-20101 in JIRA Server
Summary
by MITRE • 09/14/2021
Affected versions of Atlassian Jira Server and Data Center allow anonymous remote attackers to view whitelist rules via a Broken Access Control vulnerability in the /rest/whitelist//check endpoint. The affected versions are before version 8.13.3, and from version 8.14.0 before 8.14.1.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/09/2024
This vulnerability resides in Atlassian Jira Server and Data Center products, specifically affecting versions prior to 8.13.3 and versions 8.14.0 through 8.14.0. The flaw manifests as a broken access control condition that permits unauthorized access to sensitive whitelist configuration data through the REST API endpoint /rest/whitelist//check. This represents a critical security oversight where anonymous users can bypass authentication mechanisms to obtain information about the system's access control policies.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient authorization checks within the whitelist management REST endpoint. When an attacker makes a request to the /rest/whitelist//check endpoint without proper authentication credentials, the system fails to validate the requester's permissions before returning sensitive information about the configured whitelist rules. This misconfiguration allows attackers to enumerate access control policies that should normally be restricted to authorized administrators only. The vulnerability falls under CWE-285, which specifically addresses improper authorization within software systems, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.1.1 which covers valid accounts with restricted privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables attackers to gather intelligence about the system's security controls and access policies. An attacker who discovers this vulnerability can map out the organization's whitelist configurations, potentially identifying which IP addresses or domains are permitted access to the Jira instance. This information can then be used to plan more sophisticated attacks or to understand the boundaries of the system's security perimeter. The exposure of whitelist rules can also reveal the organization's security practices and potentially aid in bypassing other access controls that rely on these configurations.
Organizations should immediately upgrade to Atlassian Jira versions 8.13.3 or 8.14.1 and later to remediate this vulnerability. The patch addresses the missing authorization check in the REST endpoint and ensures that only authenticated users with appropriate privileges can access the whitelist configuration data. Security teams should also implement network segmentation and monitoring to detect unauthorized access attempts to the affected endpoint. Additionally, regular security assessments should verify that all REST endpoints properly enforce authorization controls, and organizations should consider implementing web application firewalls to monitor and block suspicious API access patterns. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper access control implementation in web applications and serves as a reminder that even seemingly benign configuration endpoints can expose sensitive system information when not properly secured.