CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-21569NVD status: Analyzed

Crowd Data Center: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-21569 is a high-severity improper restriction of XML external entity reference vulnerability in Crowd Data Center from Atlassian, with a CVSS 3.0 base score of 7.9 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with administrator privileges, without any action from a user. Affected Crowd Data Center versions: 7.1.0 to 7.1.2. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.33% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Crowd to 7.1.3 or a later version.
  2. Read the advisory on confluence.atlassian.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
AtlassianCrowd Data Center7.1.0 to 7.1.2Not stated
AtlassianCrowd7.1.0 up to, but not including, 7.1.37.1.3

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
HighSuccess depends on conditions outside the attacker's control.
Privileges required
HighAdministrator-level access is required first.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
LowLimited modification of data is possible.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:H. Scored by CNA (atlassian.com).

Official description

This High severity XXE (XML External Entity Injection) vulnerability was introduced in version 7.1.0 of Crowd Data Center and Server. This XXE (XML External Entity Injection) vulnerability, with a CVSS Score of 7.9, allows an authenticated attacker to access local and remote content which has high impact to confidentiality, low impact to integrity, high impact to availability, and requires no user interaction. Atlassian recommends that Crowd Data Center and Server customers upgrade to latest version, if you are unable to do so, upgrade your instance to one of the specified supported fixed versions: * Crowd Data Center and Server 7.1: Upgrade to a release greater than or equal to 7.1.3 See the release notes (https://confluence.atlassian.com/crowd/crowd-release-notes-199094.html). You can download the latest version of Crowd Data Center and Server from the download center (https://www.atlassian.com/software/crowd/download-archive). This vulnerability was reported via our Atlassian (Internal) program.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference

The product processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Many XML parsers and validators can be configured to disable external entity expansion.

More Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference vulnerabilities (CWE-611)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in Crowd Data Center

All Crowd Data Center vulnerabilities

Recent Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference vulnerabilities

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