CVE-2021-41310 in JIRA Server
Summary
by MITRE • 11/02/2021
Affected versions of Atlassian Jira Server and Data Center allow anonymous remote attackers to inject arbitrary HTML or JavaScript via a Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Associated Projects feature (/secure/admin/AssociatedProjectsForCustomField.jspa). The affected versions are before version 8.5.19, from version 8.6.0 before 8.13.11, and from version 8.14.0 before 8.19.1.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/05/2021
This cross-site scripting vulnerability in Atlassian Jira Server and Data Center represents a critical security flaw that enables anonymous remote attackers to execute malicious code within the context of affected systems. The vulnerability specifically resides in the Associated Projects feature accessible through the /secure/admin/AssociatedProjectsForCustomField.jspa endpoint, which serves as a administrative interface for managing custom field associations. The flaw allows attackers to inject arbitrary HTML or JavaScript code that can be executed when legitimate users access the affected page, potentially leading to complete compromise of the affected systems.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws where untrusted data is incorporated into web pages without proper validation or sanitization. The vulnerability exists because the application fails to adequately sanitize user input or output encoding when rendering project associations in the custom field administration interface. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious payloads that, when processed by the server, get rendered back to users without proper escaping mechanisms. This creates a persistent XSS vector that can be leveraged for session hijacking, data exfiltration, or privilege escalation attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple code injection, as it provides attackers with a foothold to escalate privileges within the Jira environment. Since the affected endpoint is part of the administrative interface, successful exploitation could allow attackers to manipulate project associations, potentially gaining access to sensitive data or modifying critical system configurations. The vulnerability affects multiple version ranges, indicating a prolonged period during which the flaw remained unaddressed, increasing the potential attack surface and exposure time. Organizations running affected versions face significant risk of unauthorized access, data breaches, and potential lateral movement within their network infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching to versions 8.5.19, 8.13.11, or 8.19.1 depending on the specific version in use, as these releases contain the necessary security fixes. Organizations should also implement additional defensive measures such as web application firewalls, input validation, and output encoding controls to reduce the attack surface. Network segmentation and privileged access controls should be enforced to limit potential damage from successful exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of regular security updates and proper input validation practices, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for script injection and T1566 for credential harvesting through web-based attacks. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect suspicious activity in administrative interfaces, and regular security assessments should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the Jira ecosystem.