# CVE-2018-20824: Cross-site scripting in Jira

> Remote attackers can inject arbitrary HTML or JavaScript via the cyclePeriod parameter in Jira's WallboardServlet, potentially leading to session hijacking or malicious actions.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.1 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 3 May 2019
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-7p7w-89xm-52j5

## What is CVE-2018-20824?

CVE-2018-20824 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Atlassian Jira, published on 3 May 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

The WallboardServlet resource in Jira before version 7.13.1 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary HTML or JavaScript via a cross site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the cyclePeriod parameter.

Weakness: CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-20824?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Atlassian Jira.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-20824?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-20824 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-20824 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2018-20824 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Atlassian Jira WallboardServlet <7.13.1 - Cross-Site Scripting (nuclei): http/cves/2018/CVE-2018-20824.yaml

## Other vulnerabilities in Atlassian Jira

- [CVE-2020-14172](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-14172/): Deserialization in Jira Server (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-20409](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-20409/): Code injection in Jira Server (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-5983](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5983/): Deserialization in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2010-1165](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-1165/): Code injection in n/a (critical 9.0)
- [CVE-2016-4319](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4319/): Cross-site request forgery in Atlassian JIRA Server before 7.1.9 (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-20824 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-20824 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Atlassian Jira, published on 3 May 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2018-20824 exists.

Affected product: Atlassian Jira. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-20824/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-20824/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-20824
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-20824
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-20824

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-20824/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.