Confluence Data Center and Server Privilege Escalation

Description

The following analytic identifies potential exploitation attempts on a known vulnerability in Atlassian Confluence, specifically targeting the /setup/*.action* URL pattern. It leverages web logs within the Splunk 'Web' Data Model, filtering for successful accesses (HTTP status 200) to these endpoints. This activity is significant as it suggests attackers might be exploiting a privilege escalation flaw in Confluence. If confirmed malicious, it could result in unauthorized access or account creation with escalated privileges, leading to potential data breaches or further exploitation within the environment.

Query · spl

| tstats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime FROM datamodel=Web
  WHERE Web.url IN ("*/setup/setupadministrator.action*", "*/setup/finishsetup.action*", "*/json/setup-restore-local.action*", "*/json/setup-restore-progress.action*", "*/json/setup-restore.action*", "*/bootstrap/selectsetupstep.action*") Web.status=200
  BY Web.http_user_agent, Web.status Web.http_method,
     Web.url, Web.url_length, Web.src,
     Web.dest, sourcetype
| `drop_dm_object_name("Web")`
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
| `confluence_data_center_and_server_privilege_escalation_filter`

Implementation guide

To successfully implement this search you need to be ingesting information on Web traffic that include fields relavent for traffic into the Web datamodel.

Known false positives

  • False positives may be present with legitimate applications. Attempt to filter by dest IP or use Asset groups to restrict to confluence servers.

Analyst notes

Known false positives: False positives may be present with legitimate applications. Attempt to filter by dest IP or use Asset groups to restrict to confluence servers.

Raw source Confluence Data Center and Server Privilege Escalation · SPL
Esc
Published by splunk/security_content ↗, licensed under Apache 2.0 ↗. Reproduced here unmodified. 
name: Confluence Data Center and Server Privilege Escalation
id: 115bebac-0976-4f7d-a3ec-d1fb45a39a11
version: 11
creation_date: '2023-10-04'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Michael Haag, Splunk
status: production
type: TTP
description: The following analytic identifies potential exploitation attempts on a known vulnerability in Atlassian Confluence, specifically targeting the /setup/*.action* URL pattern. It leverages web logs within the Splunk 'Web' Data Model, filtering for successful accesses (HTTP status 200) to these endpoints. This activity is significant as it suggests attackers might be exploiting a privilege escalation flaw in Confluence. If confirmed malicious, it could result in unauthorized access or account creation with escalated privileges, leading to potential data breaches or further exploitation within the environment.
data_source:
    - Nginx Access
search: |-
    | tstats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime FROM datamodel=Web
      WHERE Web.url IN ("*/setup/setupadministrator.action*", "*/setup/finishsetup.action*", "*/json/setup-restore-local.action*", "*/json/setup-restore-progress.action*", "*/json/setup-restore.action*", "*/bootstrap/selectsetupstep.action*") Web.status=200
      BY Web.http_user_agent, Web.status Web.http_method,
         Web.url, Web.url_length, Web.src,
         Web.dest, sourcetype
    | `drop_dm_object_name("Web")`
    | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
    | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
    | `confluence_data_center_and_server_privilege_escalation_filter`
how_to_implement: To successfully implement this search you need to be ingesting information on Web traffic that include fields relavent for traffic into the `Web` datamodel.
known_false_positives: False positives may be present with legitimate applications. Attempt to filter by dest IP or use Asset groups to restrict to confluence servers.
references:
    - https://confluence.atlassian.com/security/cve-2023-22515-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-confluence-data-center-and-server-1295682276.html
    - https://confluence.atlassian.com/security/cve-2023-22518-improper-authorization-vulnerability-in-confluence-data-center-and-server-1311473907.html
    - https://www.rapid7.com/blog/post/2023/10/04/etr-cve-2023-22515-zero-day-privilege-escalation-in-confluence-server-and-data-center/
    - https://attackerkb.com/topics/Q5f0ItSzw5/cve-2023-22515/rapid7-analysis
drilldown_searches:
    - name: View the detection results for - "$dest$"
      search: '%original_detection_search% | search  dest = "$dest$"'
      earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
    - name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$dest$"
      search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$dest$") | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`'
      earliest_offset: 7d
      latest_offset: "0"
finding:
    title: Potential exploitation attempts on a known vulnerability in Atlassian Confluence detected. The source IP is $src$ and the destination hostname is $dest$.
    entity:
        field: dest
        type: system
        score: 50
threat_objects:
    - field: src
      type: ip_address
analytic_story:
    - CVE-2023-22515 Privilege Escalation Vulnerability Confluence Data Center and Server
    - Confluence Data Center and Confluence Server Vulnerabilities
asset_type: Web Server
cve:
    - CVE-2023-22518
mitre_attack_id:
    - T1190
product:
    - Splunk Enterprise
    - Splunk Enterprise Security
    - Splunk Cloud
category: web
security_domain: network
tests:
    - name: Nginx Positive Test
      attack_data:
        - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1190/confluence/nginx_plus_kv_confluence.log
          source: nginx:plus:kv
          sourcetype: nginx:plus:kv
      test_type: unit

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