IRONSMITHINTEL
CRITICALCVSS9.8
|
Actively Exploited
|CISA KEV|CVE-2022-26138|Auth: none — unauthenticated|Reboot: required|Manual only

Atlassian Questions For Confluence App Hard-coded Credentials Vulnerability

Atlassian Questions For Confluence App has hard-coded credentials, exposing the username and password in plaintext. A remote unauthenticated attacker can use these credentials to log into Confluence and access all content accessible to users in the confluence-users group.

Published Jul 20, 2022 · Updated May 16, 2026
Why patchRisk explained in plain English
Worst-case scenarioIf unpatched

A remote attacker, without authentication, can achieve full data confidentiality loss, arbitrary modification of data, complete denial of service or system unavailability. Federal agencies are required to remediate by 2022-08-19 under CISA BOD 22-01.

How the attack worksNo clicks needed

This is a Use of Hard-coded Credentials (CWE-798) vulnerability in Atlassian Confluence. The Atlassian Questions For Confluence app for Confluence Server and Data Center creates a Confluence user account in the confluence-users group with the username disabledsystemuser and a hardcoded password. A remote, unauthenticated attacker with knowledge of the hardcoded password could exploit this to log into Confluence and access all content accessible to users in the confluence-users group. This user account is created when installing versions 2.7.34, 2.7.35, and 3.0.2 of the app. Exploitation requires remote network access, low attack complexity, no authentication required, and no user interaction required.

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Phishing link

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Malicious file

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Server compromised

Am I affected?Quick check

Probably yes if any of these apply:

IT Security
Running questions for confluence: 2.7.34, 2.7.35, 3.0.2
Real-world incidentsWhat we've seen

CISA added this CVE to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-07-29 based on evidence of active exploitation in the wild. Federal agencies required to remediate by 2022-08-19.

How to patch

Manual remediation steps

Apply the Vendor Patch

This vulnerability is in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog — apply the vendor's security update as soon as possible.

CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

References

    1
    Vendor advisory: https://confluence.atlassian.com/doc/questions-for-confluence-security-advisory-2022-07-20-1142446709.html
    1
    NVD entry: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-26138
    1
    CISA KEV: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2022-26138
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