# CVE-2020-29453: Path traversal in Jira Data Center

> Unauthenticated attackers can read arbitrary files in WEB-INF and META-INF directories due to incorrect path access checks in Jira.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 18 Feb 2021
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-jg96-3p93-wmvr

## What is CVE-2020-29453?

CVE-2020-29453 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Atlassian Jira Data Center, published on 18 Feb 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The CachingResourceDownloadRewriteRule class in Jira Server and Jira Data Center before version 8.5.11, from 8.6.0 before 8.13.3, and from 8.14.0 before 8.15.0 allowed unauthenticated remote attackers to read arbitrary files within WEB-INF and META-INF directories via an incorrect path access check.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-29453?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Atlassian Data Center, Atlassian Jira Data Center, Atlassian Jira Server.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-29453?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-29453 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-29453 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-29453 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Jira Server Pre-Auth - Arbitrary File Retrieval (WEB-INF, META-INF) (nuclei): http/cves/2020/CVE-2020-29453.yaml

## Other vulnerabilities in Atlassian Jira Data Center

- [CVE-2017-18113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-18113/): Code injection in Jira Data Center (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-41312](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-41312/): Auth bypass in Jira Data Center (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2021-39123](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-39123/): Denial of service in Jira Data Center (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2021-39113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-39113/): Missing authorization in Jira Data Center (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2021-43947](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-43947/): Code injection in Jira Data Center (high 7.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-29453 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-29453 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Atlassian Jira Data Center, published on 18 Feb 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-29453 exists.

Affected product: Atlassian Jira Data Center. 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-2020-29453/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-29453/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-29453
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-29453
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-29453

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-29453/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.