CVE-2025-22169 is an improper authorization vulnerability identified in Atlassian Jira Align, a widely used agile project management and portfolio planning tool. The flaw allows a user with low-level privileges to access endpoints that should be restricted, enabling actions such as subscribing to items or objects without having the necessary permission level. This unauthorized access can lead to the disclosure of a small amount of sensitive information, potentially including metadata or subscription details that are not intended for low-privilege users. The vulnerability affects multiple versions starting from 11.14.0 and later, indicating a broad impact across recent Jira Align deployments. The CVSS 4.0 vector indicates that the attack can be performed remotely over the network (AV:N), requires low attack complexity (AC:L), does not require authentication (AT:N), and no user interaction (UI:N). The vulnerability impacts confidentiality to a limited extent (VC:L) but does not affect integrity or availability. No known exploits have been reported in the wild as of the publication date. The root cause is an authorization logic flaw where permission checks are insufficient or improperly enforced, allowing unauthorized subscription actions. While the disclosed information is limited, attackers could use this access to gather intelligence on project items or user activities, potentially aiding further targeted attacks or social engineering. Atlassian has not yet published patches or detailed remediation steps, but affected organizations should monitor vendor advisories closely.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk primarily to confidentiality. Unauthorized subscription to items could expose project-related information, user activity, or metadata that may be sensitive in nature, especially in regulated industries such as finance, healthcare, or government. Although the impact on integrity and availability is negligible, the information disclosure could facilitate reconnaissance for more sophisticated attacks or insider threats. Organizations relying heavily on Jira Align for agile planning and cross-team collaboration may face increased risk of data leakage or unauthorized monitoring of project progress. The medium severity score reflects the limited scope of data exposure and the requirement for at least low-level user privileges, which somewhat restricts the attack surface. However, given the widespread use of Atlassian products in Europe, the vulnerability could affect many enterprises, particularly those with large development or project management teams. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but should not lead to complacency. Attackers could develop exploits to automate unauthorized subscriptions or data harvesting. Additionally, compliance with GDPR and other data protection regulations may be impacted if sensitive information is inadvertently exposed through this flaw.

1. Monitor Atlassian’s official channels for patches or security updates addressing CVE-2025-22169 and apply them promptly once available. 2. Conduct a thorough audit of user roles and permissions within Jira Align to ensure that low-privilege users do not have unnecessary access to subscription or item management features. 3. Implement strict access control policies and consider restricting subscription capabilities to trusted user groups only. 4. Enable detailed logging and monitoring of subscription-related activities to detect unusual patterns or unauthorized actions. 5. Educate project managers and administrators about this vulnerability to increase awareness and encourage prompt reporting of suspicious behavior. 6. If possible, temporarily disable or limit subscription features for low-privilege users until a patch is applied. 7. Review integration points and API usage to ensure that automated processes do not inadvertently exploit this authorization flaw. 8. Incorporate this vulnerability into incident response plans to prepare for potential exploitation attempts. 9. Evaluate the sensitivity of information accessible via subscriptions and apply data minimization principles where feasible. 10. Coordinate with legal and compliance teams to assess any regulatory implications of the vulnerability and document mitigation efforts accordingly.