Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2020-36290 is a cross-site scripting issue in Atlassian Confluence Server and Data Center. Someone who can edit a page or blog could inject HTML or JavaScript through the Livesearch macro page excerpt behavior. The main concern is misuse by compromised or overly broad editor accounts.
Executive priority
Treat this as a scheduled but real remediation item. It is not documented here as actively exploited, but Confluence often holds sensitive internal data, and editor account compromise could turn this into a user-facing security incident.
Technical view
The source describes an XSS vulnerability in the Confluence Livesearch macro page excerpt functionality. A remote attacker needs permission to edit a page or blog, then can inject arbitrary HTML or JavaScript. Affected ranges are before 7.4.5, 7.5.0 before 7.6.3, and 7.7.0 before 7.7.4.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to Confluence Server or Data Center deployments in the named version ranges where users can edit pages or blogs using affected functionality. The source does not identify Confluence Cloud or other Atlassian products as affected.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not cite active exploitation, and KEV status is false. Exploitation requires page or blog edit permission, so risk is higher where external users, contractors, or many internal users have Confluence authoring rights.
Researcher notes
Evidence is sparse: no CVSS, CWE, exploit details, or patch notes are included beyond affected and fixed version ranges. Analysis should stay centered on authenticated XSS through Livesearch page excerpts and the requirement for page or blog edit permission.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade affected Confluence versions to 7.4.5, 7.6.3, 7.7.4, or later applicable fixed releases.
- Review Atlassian ticket CONFSERVER-60118 for vendor-specific guidance and version details.
- Restrict page and blog edit permissions to trusted users until the upgrade is complete.
- Review recent page edits in sensitive spaces for unexpected macro or excerpt changes.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Confluence Server and Data Center versions against the affected ranges.
- Confirm whether untrusted or broad user groups can edit pages or blogs.
- Check whether Livesearch macro usage exists in sensitive spaces.
- Review security logs and page history for suspicious HTML or JavaScript content.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
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ATT&CK lookup starting points
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CVE-2020-36290 mapping review
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Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/CONFSERVER-60118CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.