CVE-2023-22518
All versions of Confluence Data Center and Server are affected by this unexploited vulnerability. This Improper Authorization vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to reset Confluence and create a Confluence instance administrator account. Using this account, an attacker can then perform all administrative actions that are available to Confluence instance administrator leading to - but not limited to - full loss of confidentiality, integrity and availability. Atlassian Cloud sites are not affected by this vulnerability. If your Confluence site is accessed via an atlassian.net domain, it is hosted by Atlassian and is not vulnerable to this issue.
- CVSS
- 9.8Critical
- Exploited in the wild
- Yes, in CISA KEV since 7 Nov 2023CISA deadline for US federal agencies: 28 Nov 2023known use in ransomware campaignspublic exploit code
- EPSS
- > 99.9%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 0.1% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
- Fix
- Fixed in < 1.0.0, >= 7.19.16, >= 8.3.4per the vendor; 3 more listed below
- Published
- 31 Oct 2023analysed here 12 Nov 2026
Do first. Upgrade to a fixed release: < 1.0.0, >= 7.19.16, >= 8.3.4, >= 8.4.4 (and 2 more below).
Summary
Triage
The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.
Affected products
| Product | Affected versions | Vendor says fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Atlassian Confluence Data Center | >= 1.0.0Vendor says fixed in: < 1.0.0, >= 7.19.16, >= 8.3.4, >= 8.4.4, >= 8.5.3, >= 8.6.1 | |
| Atlassian Confluence Server | >= 1.0.0Vendor says fixed in: < 1.0.0, >= 7.19.16, >= 8.3.4, >= 8.4.4, >= 8.5.3, >= 8.6.1 |
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.
Products named in our analysis
- atlassian:confluence_data_center
- atlassian:confluence_server
Fix and mitigation
WAF and other mitigations
Can a WAF block it? Partly. AWS WAF publishes WAF a rule written for this CVE. Such rules block the known exploit requests and buy time, but attackers can change the request to get past them, so they do not replace the patch.
AWS WAF · 1 rule · since 14 Dec 2023
- ExploitablePaths_URIPATH · Known bad inputs managed rule group
Also consider: patch · enable the vendor rule in block mode · per-resource ACL
Based on WAF vendor rules published for this CVE. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Remediation steps (AI-written)
Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.
Exploitation evidence
- CISA KEV catalog
- Listed since 7 Nov 2023. Known use in ransomware campaigns.
- CISA due date
- 28 Nov 2023, the remediation deadline for US federal agencies
- CISA required action
- Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
- Public exploit code
- Yes: 1 Metasploit module · 8 GitHub proofs of concept · 1 Nuclei template
- CISA SSVC
- exploitation active, automatable yes, technical impact partialAssessed by CISA 3 Feb 2025 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.
Metasploit
- exploit/multi/http/atlassian_confluence_unauth_backupexploit, rank excellent
Nuclei
- Atlassian Confluence Server - Improper Authorizationdetection template, critical
GitHub proofs of concept
- ForceFledgling/CVE-2023-2251861 stars
- RevoltSecurities/CVE-2023-2251843 stars
- davidfortytwo/CVE-2023-225188 stars
- 0x0d3ad/CVE-2023-225185 stars
and 4 more repositories
Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.
Timeline
- 31 Oct 2023First public exploit or proof of concept
- 31 Oct 2023Published1 day later
- 7 Nov 2023Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild)6 days later
- 28 Nov 2023CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies)21 days later
- 3 Feb 2025CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active434 days (about 1 year) later
- 21 Oct 2025CVE record last updated260 days (about 9 months) later
- 12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com387 days (about 1 year) later
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | NetworkReachable over the internet or any routable network. | Reachable over the internet or any routable network. |
| Attack complexity | LowRepeatable attack, no special conditions. | Repeatable attack, no special conditions. |
| Privileges required | NoneThe attacker needs no prior access. | The attacker needs no prior access. |
| User interaction | NoneNo victim action needed. | No victim action needed. |
| Scope | UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component. | Impact stays within the vulnerable component. |
| Confidentiality | HighTotal data disclosure possible. | Total data disclosure possible. |
| Integrity | HighComplete modification possible. | Complete modification possible. |
| Availability | HighFull outage possible. | Full outage possible. |
Common questions
Is CVE-2023-22518 being exploited?
Yes. CVE-2023-22518 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.
How severe is CVE-2023-22518?
CVE-2023-22518 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 9.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2023-22518?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2023-22518. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2023-22518 affect?
CVE-2023-22518 affects atlassian:confluence_data_center, atlassian:confluence_server. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
References
4 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.
Other links (4)
- confluence.atlassian.com /pages/viewpage.action?pageId=1311473907
- jira.atlassian.com /browse/CONFSERVER-93142
- packetstormsecurity.com /files/176264/Atlassian-Confluence-Improper-Authorization-Code-Execution.html
- cisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-22518
Where the data on this page comes from
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Metasploit Framework: exploit and scanner modules
- Nuclei templates: detection templates
- PoC-in-GitHub: GitHub repositories that claim a proof of concept
Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.
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