# Confluence Data Center/Server zero-day lets attackers create admins (CVE-2023-22515) · pwn.watch

> A broken access control bug in publicly reachable Confluence Data Center and Server let outside attackers create Confluence administrator accounts. It was exploited as a zero-day, and Microsoft attributed it to the China-nexus Storm-0062. Atlassian Cloud was not affected.

Page: https://pwn.watch/i/atlassian-confluence-admin-creation-cve-2023-22515 · generated 2026-10-22T22:00:08.805Z

## Status
- Severity: critical · status: closed · patch: patched
- Product: Atlassian Confluence Data Center and Server
- Started: 2023-10-04 · closed: 2023-10-16
- CVEs: CVE-2023-22515
- Affected: 8.0.0 to 8.5.1 (Atlassian advisory)
- Fixed in: 8.3.3; 8.4.3; 8.5.2 (LTS)

## Follow this incident
- RSS (one item per update): https://pwn.watch/i/atlassian-confluence-admin-creation-cve-2023-22515/feed.xml
- JSON Feed: https://pwn.watch/i/atlassian-confluence-admin-creation-cve-2023-22515/feed.json
- Full data (timeline, sources, posts, agentBrief): https://pwn.watch/i/atlassian-confluence-admin-creation-cve-2023-22515.json
- This file: https://pwn.watch/i/atlassian-confluence-admin-creation-cve-2023-22515/llms.txt

## Updates (newest first)
- 2023-10-16: CISA, FBI and MS-ISAC joint advisory AA23-289A on active exploitation (https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa23-289a)
- 2023-10-05: CISA adds CVE-2023-22515 to the KEV catalog
- 2023-10-04: Atlassian discloses the zero-day after customer reports and ships fixes (https://confluence.atlassian.com/security/cve-2023-22515-broken-access-control-vulnerability-in-confluence-data-center-and-server-1295682276.html)

## Fix brief
# Security brief: Confluence Data Center/Server zero-day lets attackers create admins (CVE-2023-22515)

Source: https://pwn.watch/i/atlassian-confluence-admin-creation-cve-2023-22515 · status: closed (closed Oct 16, 2023) · severity: critical · updated Oct 16, 2023

## Patch status
**PATCHED: fixed releases exist. Upgrade to a fixed version.**

## What it is
A broken access control bug in publicly reachable Confluence Data Center and Server let outside attackers create Confluence administrator accounts. It was exploited as a zero-day, and Microsoft attributed it to the China-nexus Storm-0062. Atlassian Cloud was not affected.

Severity detail: CVSS 10.0 (Atlassian), zero-day, actively exploited (CISA KEV), known ransomware use

- Product: Atlassian Confluence Data Center and Server
- CVE / advisory ids: CVE-2023-22515

## Affected versions
- 8.0.0 to 8.5.1 (Atlassian advisory)

## Check whether you're affected
No generic command applies (the product is a hosted service, appliance or desktop app). Check the installed version in its admin UI / About screen and compare with the versions above.

## Fix
Upgrade to one of these fixed versions (or later on the same branch):
- 8.3.3
- 8.4.3
- 8.5.2 (LTS)

After upgrading, re-run the checks above and redeploy/restart the affected services.

## Latest updates
- Oct 16, 2023: CISA, FBI and MS-ISAC joint advisory AA23-289A on active exploitation
- Oct 5, 2023: CISA adds CVE-2023-22515 to the KEV catalog
- Oct 4, 2023: Atlassian discloses the zero-day after customer reports and ships fixes

## Advisories
- [CVE-2023-22515 - Broken Access Control Vulnerability in Confluence Data Center and Server](https://confluence.atlassian.com/security/cve-2023-22515-broken-access-control-vulnerability-in-confluence-data-center-and-server-1295682276.html) (Atlassian)
- [Threat Actors Exploit Atlassian Confluence CVE-2023-22515 for Initial Access to Networks (AA23-289A)](https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa23-289a) (CISA)
- [NVD: CVE-2023-22515](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-22515) (NVD)
- [CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog](https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog) (CISA)

## Caveats
Storm-0062 attribution per Microsoft Threat Intelligence (exploitation since Sept 14, 2023).

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Machine-readable: https://pwn.watch/i/atlassian-confluence-admin-creation-cve-2023-22515.json · all incidents: https://pwn.watch/incidents.json. Verify against the vendor advisory before changing production systems.