# CVE-2020-4021: Cross-site scripting in Jira Server and Data Center

> Remote attackers can inject arbitrary HTML or JavaScript via XSS in the XML export view of Atlassian Jira Server and Data Center.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 1 Jun 2020
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-844c-8r3w-mhj6

## What is CVE-2020-4021?

CVE-2020-4021 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Atlassian Jira, published on 1 Jun 2020. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Affected versions are: Before 8.5.5, and from 8.6.0 before 8.8.1 of Atlassian Jira Server and Data Center allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary HTML or JavaScript via a cross site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the XML export view.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-4021?

It affects 4 products.


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

## How do I fix CVE-2020-4021?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-4021 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-4021 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-4021 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## 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-2020-4021 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-4021 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Atlassian Jira, published on 1 Jun 2020. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-4021 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2020-4021/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-4021/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-4021
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-4021
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-4021

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-4021/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.