Security Resilience

CVE-2019-3396

Path Traversal in Atlassian Confluence Server ≤ 6.6.12

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRansomware-linkedPath Traversal
Published
25 March 2019
Modified
24 October 2025
KEV Added
03 November 2021
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.99 100.0th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2019-3396 is a critical-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Atlassian Confluence Server. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 0.0% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

The vulnerability is a path traversal flaw combined with server-side template injection in the Widget Connector macro of Atlassian Confluence Server and Data Center. It affects versions prior to 6.6.12, 6.12.3, 6.13.3, and 6.14.2, and is tracked under CWE-22 with a CVSS score of 9.8.

Unauthenticated remote attackers can supply a malicious template to the macro, traverse the filesystem, and execute arbitrary code on the underlying server, resulting in full compromise of the Confluence instance.

Publicly available references, including the Atlassian Jira advisory CONFSERVER-57974 and Rapid7 Metasploit module, document the fixed versions and provide exploit code confirming remote code execution is achievable without authentication.

Multiple working exploits have been published on Exploit-DB and Packet Storm, indicating the issue has been actively weaponized since disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access Control

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

The Widget Connector macro in Atlassian Confluence Server before version 6.6.12 (the fixed version for 6.6.x), from version 6.7.0 before 6.12.3 (the fixed version for 6.12.x), from version 6.13.0 before 6.13.3 (the fixed version for 6.13.x), and from version 6.14.0…

more

before 6.14.2 (the fixed version for 6.14.x), allows remote attackers to achieve path traversal and remote code execution on a Confluence Server or Data Center instance via server-side template injection.

CWE(s)
CWE-22
KEV Date Added
03 November 2021

Related Threats

Threat-Actor AttributionAI

Microsoft Corp. (Salesforce / Slack engineer recruitment claims)
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APT3 (G0022)
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Leviathan (G0065)
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APT19 (G0073)
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APT41 (G0096)
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APT29 (G0016)
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MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.006 DCSync Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interface (API)(Citation: Microsoft DRSR Dec 2017) (Citation: Microsoft GetNCCChanges) (Citati…
attack.mitre.org →
T1016.001 Internet Connection Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may check for Internet connectivity on compromised systems.
attack.mitre.org →
T1018 Remote System Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of other systems by IP address, hostname, or other logical identifier on a network that may be used for Lateral Movement from the current system.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2019-3398Same product: Atlassian Confluence Serverboth on KEV
CVE-2024-21677Same product: Atlassian Confluence Server
CVE-2021-26086Same vendor: Atlassianboth on KEV
CVE-2025-22167Same vendor: Atlassian
CVE-2024-1708Shared CWE-22both on KEV
CVE-2022-41328Shared CWE-22both on KEV
CVE-2015-0016Shared CWE-22both on KEV
CVE-2021-41773Shared CWE-22both on KEV
CVE-2024-57727Shared CWE-22both on KEV
CVE-2020-14864Shared CWE-22both on KEV

Affected Assets

atlassian
confluence server
≤ 6.6.12 · 6.7.0 — 6.12.3 · 6.13.0 — 6.13.3

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.3.2

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-22

Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.

PR.AA-05 none match
blocks

PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

References