Issue Summary

If a Jira user copy-pastes any URL containing the string "&sect" into the Jira issue comment field in Visual mode, Jira interprets this as the HTML section character and converts the string to "§".
The issue does not occur when you type or copy-paste the URL as a hyperlink in the comment field.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Access a Jira instance running on version 9.8.0 and above
2. Create/access a Jira issue.
3. Copy a URL from the URL bar that contains "&sect"
   (for example: http://www.example.com/some&section) and paste it to the Jira issue comment field in Visual mode.
   Note: The issue is reproducible only if you copy the URL as plain text. It is not reproducible if you type or copy the URL as a hyperlink.

Note: The issue is not reproducible on Jira 9.7.0 and prior versions.

Expected Results

The URL should show as entered.
URL: http://www.example.com/some&section

Actual Results

The "&sect" string converts to the HTML section character "§" automatically.
URL: http://www.example.com/some§ion

Workaround

• Copy and paste the URL in the "Text" mode.
• Type in the URL in the Jira issue comment field.
• Copy and paste the Jira URL as a hyperlink.