Confluence Data Center and Server Privilege Escalation

name: Confluence Data Center and Server Privilege Escalation
id: 115bebac-0976-4f7d-a3ec-d1fb45a39a11
version: 9
date: '2026-03-10'
author: Michael Haag, Splunk
status: production
type: TTP
data_source:
    - Nginx Access
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.
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 ("$dest$") starthoursago=168  | 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: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
rba:
    message: Potential exploitation attempts on a known vulnerability in Atlassian Confluence detected. The source IP is $src$ and the destination hostname is $dest$.
    risk_objects:
        - field: dest
          type: system
          score: 50
    threat_objects:
        - field: src
          type: ip_address
tags:
    analytic_story:
        - CVE-2023-22515 Privilege Escalation Vulnerability Confluence Data Center and Server
        - Confluence Data Center and Confluence Server Vulnerabilities
    cve:
        - CVE-2023-22518
    asset_type: Web Server
    atomic_guid: []
    mitre_attack_id:
        - T1190
    product:
        - Splunk Enterprise
        - Splunk Enterprise Security
        - Splunk Cloud
    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