Bidirectional sync with Jira (Northstar)
Northstar integrates with Jira to streamline security workflows for both Security Operations and AppSec teams. The integration automatically creates Jira tickets for security events—Incidents and Issues—routes them to the right projects, and enriches them with technical context like source IPs, request URLs, vulnerability type, and severity.
This integration eliminates manual per-application setup through group-based routing. Administrators can map Jira projects and issue types to resource groups, so any newly onboarded application inherits the correct routing rules automatically.
Key benefits
Automate routing: Security events reach the correct Jira project without manual intervention, including for new applications via groups.
Contextual enrichment: Tickets include technical observables (source IPs, URLs, vulnerability type, severity, Contrast Risk Score) to expedite triage.
Synchronized resolution: Closing a Jira ticket automatically updates the corresponding incident or vulnerability status.
Centralized communication: Comments sync between platforms, so investigation history stays unified.
Single-pane workflow: SOC and AppSec teams manage the complete lifecycle—triage, remediation, closure—without leaving Jira.
Scale without overhead: Group-based configuration means onboarding hundreds of applications requires zero additional routing setup.
Trigger types
The integration supports two trigger types. Each can be configured independently, with separate routing rules, Jira projects, and issue type mappings.
Incidents
When Contrast detects a security incident (for example, an attack or exploit attempt), the integration opens a Jira ticket in the configured project. Tickets are enriched with:
Source IP addresses and request URLs
Incident type and severity level
Direct link back to the incident in Contrast
Issues
When Contrast detects a new vulnerability, the integration can automatically open a Jira issue (like a Bug or Task). Vulnerability tickets are enriched with:
Vulnerability Type (for example: SQL Injection, Cross-Site Scripting)
Severity rating
Contrast Risk Score (0.0–10.0), mapped to the corresponding Jira priority or severity field
Direct link to the finding in Contrast
Risk score to Jira priority mapping
The default mapping between Contrast Risk Scores and Jira priorities is shown below. This mapping is configurable per routing rule.
Contrast Risk Score | Contrast Severity | Default Jira Priority |
|---|---|---|
8.0-10.0 | Critical | Highest |
6.0-7.9 | High | High |
4.0-5.9 | Medium | Medium |
2.0-3.9 | Low | Low |
0.0-1.9 | Note | Lowest |
Group-based routing
Administrators can configure Jira routing at the resource group level, rather than per individual application. This is the recommended approach for large organizations or teams that onboard applications frequently.
How it works
Select a Resource Group as the routing source for a rule, instead of a single application
Map Applications to specific Jira projects and Issue Types
Any application subsequently onboarded to a mapped group automatically inherits the routing rule—no further configuration required
Create multiple configurations for different Applications or Jira projects
Note
Group-based rules are additive. You can mix both approaches in the same Jira connection.
Bidirectional sync
The integration keeps status and comments synchronized between Jira and Northstar in both directions, for both Incidents and Issues.
Status sync
Event type | Jira transition | Contrast result |
|---|---|---|
Incident | Done / Closed | Incident resolved in Contrast |
Issue | Done / Closed | Vulnerability marked Remediated or Closed in Contrast |
Comment sync
Comments added to a Jira issue sync back to the corresponding Incident or Vulnerability activity feed in Contrast
Comments deleted in Jira are also removed from Contrast
This gives both SOC analysts and developers a complete, unified investigation record without switching tools
Configuration
Before you begin
Ensure you have:
A Jira account with API token access
Administrator access in Northstar
One or more Jira projects to route tickets into
Set up Jira credentials
For Northstar, in the left navigation, select Administration > Integrations.
Select the Jira option under the Integrations section.
Under the Manage Credentials tab, enter:
Credential name: for use in Northstar
Jira URL: Provide the URL for your Jira instance
Email: email address associated with the Jira account
API token: API token for the Jira account
Select Test connection to test the connection. The test may take a few moments if you have many Jira projects. The test confirms that Contrast can reach the specific Jira instance, and the user can log in.
Save the connection.
Add a Configuration
Open the Jira integration and go to the Configuration tab.
Complete the required fields:
Configuration name
Jira credential to help identify the ticket to connect
Applications to activate Jira tickets for security issues
Jira project to which the ticket is connected
Default issue type
Complete optional fields as needed:
Ticket Title Prefix
Default Epic
Default Assignee
Additional Fields: Select additional fields and values to send to Jira, such as Labels. (Not all Jira fields are supported).
Enable Bi-Directional Flow (optional) to sync Jira issues with Northstar automatically. This requires your Jira admin to configure a provided Webhook URL.
Select the Northstar issue and/or incident severities you want Jira issues to be created from.
Select Save.
Note
When enabling the integration, Northstar will not automatically create Jira items for existing issues and/or incidents. The integration will only create Jira items for NEW issues and/or incidents.
Metrics and instrumentation
The integration tracks the following metrics automatically and is accessible within the Contrast platform.
Metric | Description |
|---|---|
Ticket volume | Number of Jira tickets created per trigger type (Incident / Vulnerability), broken down by tenant/organization |
Mean Time to Remediate (MTTR) | Time elapsed from Jira ticket creation to ticket closure or Done transition. Enables teams to track remediation velocity over time. |