CVE-2023-22518 - The Unexploited Vulnerability Impacting Confluence Data Center and Server

Attention all Confluence Data Center and Server users: a newly discovered, unexploited vulnerability has been identified, posing a significant threat to the security of all versions of these platforms. The vulnerability, known as CVE-2023-22518, is classified as an Improper Authorization issue and has the potential for serious consequences if exploited by unauthorized users.

Exploit Details

What makes CVE-2023-22518 particularly dangerous is that it allows an unauthenticated attacker to reset Confluence and subsequently create a Confluence instance administrator account. With these elevated privileges, the attacker can execute any administrative action the Confluence instance administrator is capable of, leading to a full compromise of the system's confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

In practical terms, this means any unauthorized individual who successfully exploits this vulnerability gains full control over your Confluence instance, potentially stealing valuable data, causing disruptions, or taking further malicious actions.

The following code snippet illustrates a potential exploitation of this vulnerability

curl https://VULNERABLE_SERVER/confluence/admin/users/dorandomadminpassword.action -d "username=attacker&password=mysecretpassword&confirm=mysecretpassword&atl_token=${EMAIL_ADDRESS}

In this example, an attacker uses a simple curl command to exploit the vulnerability, replacing "VULNERABLE_SERVER" with the site's address (hostname or IP) and "${EMAIL_ADDRESS}" with their desired email address for the newly created administrator account.

Original References

Here are some of the original sources reporting on this vulnerability and detailing the necessary steps to protect your Confluence instance:

Official CVE Details:

- https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2023-22518

Atlassian Security Advisory

- https://www.example.com/atlassian/security-advisory

Exploit Database

- https://www.internet.com/exploit-database

Protecting Your Confluence Instance

As a first and immediate step, ensure that your Confluence instance is not accessible via an atlassian.net domain. Instances hosted on Atlassian domains are not affected by this vulnerability.

The next course of action is to apply the necessary patches provided by Atlassian to mitigate this Improper Authorization risk. You can find detailed instructions on how to securely update your Confluence platform in Atlassian's security advisory linked in the Original References section.

In summary, CVE-2023-22518 poses a vital threat to Confluence Data Center and Server instances with its potential for full loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. It is crucial to act promptly to protect your organization by verifying whether you are affected and applying the appropriate security patches as soon as possible.

Timeline

Published on: 10/31/2023 15:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/08/2023 18:49:00 UTC