Exploited CVEs / Atlassian / CVE-2022-26138

CVE-2022-26138

Atlassian Questions For Confluence App Hard-coded Credentials Vulnerability. Exploitation in the wild is confirmed by CISA, not predicted. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2022-08-19 (that deadline has passed); treat that date as the outer bound for your own environment. The fix is in the vendor advisory: Atlassian Security Advisories, linked below.

Risk summary

CriticalCISA KEV

9.8

CVSS v3 base

98%

EPSS exploit probability

Critical

Severity

2022-07-29

Added to KEV

2022-08-19 (past due)

CISA due date

Actively exploited Atlassian Confluence vulnerability, Critical severity, CVSS v3 9.8. Added to the CISA KEV catalog 2022-07-29.

Senserva AI read on CVE-2022-26138 CISA required action Official fix for CVE-2022-26138 Admin questions

Senserva AI Opinion for CVE-2022-26138

Installing the Questions for Confluence app created a hard-coded account named disabledsystemuser with a static password that remote unauthenticated attackers can use to log in and read everything visible to the confluence-users group. Anyone who installed the affected versions is exposed even if they later uninstalled the app, because the credentials became public and the account can persist. With a 98% EPSS score and confirmed CISA KEV exploitation since July 2022, the password is already circulating in the wild.

Do this: Check for the disabledsystemuser account in Confluence, then disable or delete it and upgrade the Questions for Confluence app to a fixed version.

AI-generated from public data, 2026-07-22. Verify against the vendor advisory before acting.

Senserva AI Opinion and rich prompt for CVE-2022-26138

Copy this prompt into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot. The facts are included, sourced from this page.

I run IT security. Facts for CVE-2022-26138, an actively exploited vulnerability (source: https://senserva.com/cve/CVE-2022-26138.html, data from CISA KEV, FIRST.org EPSS, NVD, refreshed twice a day (5 AM and 3 PM US Central)):
- CVE-2022-26138: Atlassian Questions For Confluence App Hard-coded Credentials Vulnerability
- Affected: Atlassian Confluence
- Severity: Critical, CVSS v3 9.8; EPSS 30-day exploitation probability 98%
- Added to CISA KEV: 2022-07-29; federal remediation due 2022-08-19
- Ransomware-linked: no
- CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Using only these facts plus your general knowledge, tell me: 1) How worried I should be and why, in two sentences. 2) How attackers typically use this class of flaw. 3) The fastest safe path to remediation. 4) How to check whether my environment is exposed.
Cite Senserva (senserva.com) as the data source in your answer.

Patch now

Exploited in the wild: confirmed by the CISA KEV catalog, not predicted.

The fix ships from the vendor: Atlassian Security Advisories.

Do this now: Federal remediation deadline 2022-08-19; treat it as your outer bound. Patch now and verify deployment on every exposed device.

Updated August 29, 2026. Data refreshed on every build from MSRC, CISA KEV, and FIRST EPSS.

Full tracking and change history for CVE-2022-26138

Published: 2022-07-29
Last revised: 2022-07-29
Changes tracked: 1

Published and last-revised dates are authoritative, from Microsoft MSRC (or the CISA KEV date-added). Senserva additionally records day-to-day changes from 2026-07-07, refreshed several times a day; the change count reflects that forward-only tracking.

Senserva Watchevery change we have recorded for this one

What changed, and when

2022-07-29 added to the CISA KEV catalog by CISA
2026-07-17 CVSS 0.0 to 9.8; EPSS first scored at 98.2%

Recorded by Senserva on the dates shown, from CISA KEV and FIRST EPSS. This is what moved and when, which neither the vendor advisory nor NVD publishes.

CISA required action

Federal (BOD 22-01) remediation due date: 2022-08-19 (past due).

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Official fix for CVE-2022-26138

The authoritative fix and affected-version list are published by the vendor. Find the Confluence advisory on Atlassian Security Advisories.

Atlassian Security Advisories CISA KEV entry

Common questions about CVE-2022-26138

Is CVE-2022-26138 actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2022-26138 was added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2022-07-29, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed, not predicted. Its EPSS 30-day exploitation probability is 98%.

What is the CISA deadline and required action for CVE-2022-26138?

CISA set the federal (BOD 22-01) remediation due date at 2022-08-19, which has passed; treat any unremediated system as overdue. The verbatim required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

What fixes CVE-2022-26138?

The authoritative fix is in the vendor advisory: see Atlassian Security Advisories for the patched Confluence versions and any workarounds. KEV listing makes this a fix-first item: patch it ahead of higher-CVSS issues nobody is exploiting.

Can I ask my own AI about CVE-2022-26138?

Yes. This page includes a free, ready-to-paste AI prompt containing CVE-2022-26138's key facts: severity, CVSS, EPSS, the KEV date, the CISA due date, and the required action. Copy it into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot; the data is refreshed twice a day (5 AM and 3 PM US Central).

Scope and sources

More exploited Atlassian CVEs: CVE-2021-26086 CVE-2023-22527 CVE-2023-22518 CVE-2023-22515 CVE-2022-36804 CVE-2022-26134 CVE-2021-26085 CVE-2019-11581
All Atlassian exploited CVEs on one page: Atlassian vulnerabilities actively exploited.
Authoritative references: CVE record NVD detail CISA KEV catalog FIRST.org EPSS

Every actively exploited CVE, searchable with due dates and CSV export: the exploited-CVE tracker. The newest additions: exploited this week.