Security protocols Confluence uses for syncing with Active Directory

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Note that this KB was created for the Data Center version of the product. Data Center KBs for non-Data-Center-specific features may also work for Server versions of the product, however they have not been tested. Support for Server* products ended on February 15th 2024. If you are running a Server product, you can visit the Atlassian Server end of support announcement to review your migration options.

*Except Fisheye and Crucible

Question

What is the auth type that Confluence uses with Active Directory?

Environment

6.15.9

Answer

Crowd is using Spring LDAP which in turn using standard Java API. For sync data (between Confluence and Active Directory), Java will use either plain connection or SSL connection to query data from AD. Normally, credentials will be sent in plain text (except LDAP version 3 which support SASL), more information can be found in here.

Updated on April 8, 2025

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