CVE-2023-22512
📋 TL;DR
This is a high-severity denial-of-service vulnerability in Confluence Data Center and Server that allows unauthenticated attackers to disrupt service availability. It affects versions starting from 5.6.0, specifically impacting Confluence instances that haven't been patched to the fixed versions. Organizations running vulnerable Confluence instances are at risk of service disruption.
💻 Affected Systems
- Confluence Data Center
- Confluence Server
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete service outage of Confluence instance, making collaboration tools unavailable to all users for extended periods.
Likely Case
Temporary service disruption causing productivity loss and potential data access issues for teams relying on Confluence.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact with proper network segmentation and monitoring allowing quick detection and response.
🎯 Exploit Status
The vulnerability requires no authentication and minimal technical skill to exploit based on CVSS characteristics.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 7.19.14 or higher, 8.5.1 or higher, or any 8.6+ version
Vendor Advisory: https://confluence.atlassian.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=1283691616
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Backup your Confluence instance and database. 2. Download the patched version from Atlassian's download center. 3. Stop Confluence service. 4. Install the update following Atlassian's upgrade guide. 5. Restart Confluence service. 6. Verify the version is patched.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Access Restriction
linuxRestrict network access to Confluence instances to trusted IP addresses only
# Example iptables rule: iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8090 -s TRUSTED_IP_RANGE -j ACCEPT
# Then: iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8090 -j DROP
Rate Limiting
allImplement rate limiting on Confluence endpoints to prevent DoS attempts
# Using nginx: limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=confluence:10m rate=10r/s;
# Then in location block: limit_req zone=confluence burst=20 nodelay;
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network segmentation and firewall rules to limit access to Confluence instances
- Deploy web application firewall (WAF) with DoS protection rules and monitor for attack patterns
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Confluence version via Admin → General Configuration → System Information, or via REST API at /rest/applinks/1.0/manifestCheck Version:
curl -s http://confluence-instance:port/rest/applinks/1.0/manifest | grep -o '"version":"[^"]*"'Verify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 7.19.14+, 8.5.1+, or any 8.6+ version, and test service availability under normal load📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual spike in error logs
- Multiple connection attempts from single IPs
- Service restart logs without normal shutdown
Network Indicators:
- Abnormal traffic patterns to Confluence endpoints
- High volume of requests from unauthenticated sources
- TCP connection floods
SIEM Query:
source="confluence.logs" AND (error OR "connection refused" OR "service unavailable") | stats count by src_ip