Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-29212

RCE in Xwiki 14.0 – 14.4.7

Public PoCRCE
Published
16 April 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.9
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.012 66th percentile
Risk Priority 76 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-29212 is a critical-severity Eval Injection (CWE-95) vulnerability in Xwiki Xwiki. Its CVSS base score is 9.9 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique JavaScript (T1059.007); ranked in the top 34% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

XWiki Commons, the technical libraries shared across multiple XWiki projects, contain a code injection vulnerability that allows any user with edit rights to execute arbitrary Groovy, Python, or Velocity code. The flaw stems from improper escaping of included pages within the included documents edit panel, which grants the attacker full access to the XWiki installation. The issue affects versions prior to the listed patches and carries a CVSS score of 9.9 with CWE-94 and CWE-95 classifications.

An authenticated attacker with edit permissions can supply malicious content that bypasses escaping controls, resulting in remote code execution on the server and complete compromise of the XWiki instance. No special user interface interaction or elevated privileges beyond standard edit rights are required for exploitation.

The GitHub security advisory and associated commits indicate that the vulnerability was addressed in XWiki 14.4.7 and 14.10, with the fix centered on proper escaping of included pages in the edit panel. Administrators are advised to upgrade to these or later releases to eliminate the exposure.

The EPSS score remains low, with a current value of 0.0774 and a peak of 0.0847, showing no material increase that would indicate emerging exploitation interest after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

XWiki Commons are technical libraries common to several other top level XWiki projects. Any user with edit rights can execute arbitrary Groovy, Python or Velocity code in XWiki leading to full access to the XWiki installation. The root cause is…

more

improper escaping of the included pages in the included documents edit panel. The problem has been patched on XWiki 14.4.7, and 14.10.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059.007 JavaScript Execution
Adversaries may abuse various implementations of JavaScript for execution.
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.002 AppleScript Execution
Adversaries may abuse AppleScript for execution.
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.005 Visual Basic Execution
Adversaries may abuse Visual Basic (VB) for execution.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-21650Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-35150Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-40177Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2024-31996Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2024-31465Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29210Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-50721Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29509Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-35152Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-37909Same product: Xwiki Xwiki

Affected Assets

xwiki
xwiki
14.10 · 14.0 — 14.4.7

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

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Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.3.1
  • V1.3.2

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-94

Makes persistent code injection into loaded programs impossible when the executable image itself resides on hardware-protected read-only media.

addresses: CWE-94

Dynamically generated code can be produced and executed inside the isolated chamber, preventing host compromise from code-injection payloads.

addresses: CWE-94

Validates inputs used in dynamic code generation to block injected directives.

addresses: CWE-94

Directly prevents execution of attacker-supplied code written into data memory regions.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require input neutralization and avoidance of unsafe dynamic evaluation.

PR.DS-10 none match
prevents

PR.DS-10 protects runtime data confidentiality/integrity but has no bearing on neutralizing externally influenced input during code generation, so neither direction shows any preventive effect.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing in development can detect eval injection vulnerabilities before deployment.

prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and safe coding practices that directly prevent eval injection.

prevents

Application security requirements include rules against dynamic code execution of untrusted input.

prevents

Secure architecture principles discourage unsafe dynamic evaluation constructs.

prevents

Secure coding explicitly requires neutralization of input before dynamic evaluation, directly mitigating eval injection.

References