CVE-2020-14174 in JIRA Server
Summary
by MITRE
Affected versions of Atlassian Jira Server and Data Center allow remote attackers to view titles of a private project via an Insecure Direct Object References (IDOR) vulnerability in the Administration Permission Helper. The affected versions are before version 7.13.6, from version 8.0.0 before 8.5.7, from version 8.6.0 before 8.9.2, and from version 8.10.0 before 8.10.1.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/14/2020
The vulnerability CVE-2020-14174 represents a critical insecure direct object reference flaw in Atlassian Jira Server and Data Center platforms that exposes sensitive project information to unauthorized remote attackers. This security weakness resides within the Administration Permission Helper component, which is responsible for managing access controls and permissions within the Jira environment. The flaw allows attackers to bypass normal access controls and retrieve private project titles through direct API requests, fundamentally undermining the confidentiality assurances that private projects are supposed to provide. The vulnerability affects multiple version ranges including Jira Server versions prior to 7.13.6, Jira Data Center versions from 8.0.0 through 8.5.6, versions from 8.6.0 through 8.9.1, and versions from 8.10.0 through 8.10.0, demonstrating the widespread impact across the product lineage.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and object reference checking within the permission helper functionality. When legitimate users or attackers make requests to specific API endpoints, the system fails to properly verify whether the requesting entity has sufficient privileges to access the targeted project resources. This allows an attacker to construct malicious requests using direct object identifiers without proper authorization checks, effectively enabling them to enumerate and discover private project titles that should remain confidential within the organization's Jira instance. The flaw operates at the application level and requires no authentication to exploit, making it particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged by anyone with network access to the vulnerable Jira server. This type of vulnerability is classified as CWE-639 as it involves insecure direct object references where the application uses user-supplied input to access objects directly without proper authorization validation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it provides attackers with valuable reconnaissance data that can be used for further exploitation attempts. By discovering private project titles, attackers gain insights into organizational structure, business domains, and potentially sensitive project information that could inform more sophisticated attacks. The vulnerability essentially creates a backdoor for passive reconnaissance, allowing threat actors to map the attack surface of an organization's Jira deployment and identify potential targets for more advanced exploitation techniques. Organizations using affected versions of Jira are at risk of having their internal project structures exposed, potentially revealing strategic initiatives, security-sensitive developments, or other confidential business information that should remain private within the system.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations to address this vulnerability by upgrading to the patched versions of Jira Server and Data Center as specified in the advisory. The recommended remediation includes applying the security patches released by Atlassian for versions 7.13.6, 8.5.7, 8.9.2, and 8.10.1 respectively, which contain the necessary fixes to properly validate object references and enforce access controls. Additionally, organizations should conduct immediate security assessments of their Jira environments to verify that no unauthorized access has occurred, and implement network-level restrictions to limit access to Jira instances where possible. Security teams should also review existing access controls and permissions within their Jira deployments to ensure that proper least-privilege principles are maintained, as this vulnerability could potentially be leveraged in conjunction with other attack vectors to escalate privileges or access additional sensitive information within the platform. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and access control implementation, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential harvesting through reconnaissance activities.