How severe is CVE-2022-26138?

CVE-2022-26138 has a CVSS score of 9.8/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-26138?

Affected package information for CVE-2022-26138 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2022-26138?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2022-26138 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

Is CVE-2022-26138 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 7 known exploit references for CVE-2022-26138, including 4 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2022-26138?

CVE-2022-26138 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 94.3%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Is CVE-2022-26138 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2022-26138 (Atlassian Questions For Confluence App Hard-coded Credentials Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2022-07-29. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2022-08-19. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2022-26138?

CVE-2022-26138 is classified as Hard-coded Credentials (CWE-798). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2022-26138?

CVE-2022-26138 affects atlassian questions for confluence (3 versions, e.g. 2.7.34, 2.7.35, 3.0.2). Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

Is there exploit tooling available for CVE-2022-26138?

A Nuclei detection template exists for CVE-2022-26138, meaning automated scanners can fingerprint it. Public exploit tooling significantly increases real-world risk — prioritize patching and ensure detection coverage. Exploit tooling should only ever be used in isolated, authorized testing environments.

When was CVE-2022-26138 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-26138 was published on July 20, 2022 and was last updated on January 14, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CISA KEV·Added 2022-07-29 — agencies required to remediate by 2022-08-19

CVE-2022-26138

CRITICAL

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…

Published

Jul 20, 2022

Updated

Jan 14, 2026

Affected

0 pkgs

Patched

None yet

Exploits

7 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

94.3%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk100th percentile0.00%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Description

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.

Affected Products

1 product · 3 configurations

Application

questions for confluenceatlassian

3 versions

2.7.342.7.353.0.2

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

The Atlassian Questions For Confluence app for Confluence Server and Dat…

github.comGithubJul 2022

The Atlassian Questions For Confluence app for Confluence Server and Dat…

twitter.comAPIJul 2022

The Atlassian Questions For Confluence app for Confluence Server and Dat…

github.comGithubJul 2022

The Atlassian Questions For Confluence app for Confluence Server and Dat…

github.comGithubJul 2022

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2022-26138 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2022-26138 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

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