Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-29515

XSS in Xwiki ≤ 13.10.11

Public PoCXSS
Published
19 April 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.7
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0057 44th percentile
Risk Priority 62 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-29515 is a high-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability in Xwiki Xwiki. Its CVSS base score is 7.7 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Browser Session Hijacking (T1185); ranked at the 44th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); 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 Platform contains a privilege escalation flaw in its App Within Minutes application that lets any user able to create a space obtain administrative rights over that space. The resulting admin rights automatically confer script rights, enabling stored JavaScript injection (CWE-79). The issue affects all deployments exposing the App Within Minutes wizard, including cases where the UI button is hidden; an attacker can still reach the vulnerable endpoint directly via /xwiki/bin/view/AppWithinMinutes/CreateApplication?wizard=true.

An authenticated user with minimal space-creation privileges can exploit the flaw simply by completing the App Within Minutes wizard. Successful exploitation grants space-level administration, allowing arbitrary script execution that can alter page content, exfiltrate data, or perform actions on behalf of other users within the affected space. The CVSS 7.7 rating reflects the network-accessible attack vector, low complexity, and changed scope that results from the granted script rights.

Official advisories and the accompanying patches in XWiki 13.10.11, 14.4.8, 14.10.1, and 15.0 RC1 prevent the automatic assignment of space admin rights when the creating user lacks script rights on the target space, while displaying an error to the user. Administrators are advised to upgrade and to audit existing space admin assignments for any users who previously created App Within Minutes applications, as those rights are not revoked by the fix. No workarounds are documented. The associated EPSS score has remained flat at 0.0657 with no material increase after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform offering runtime services for applications built on top of it. Any user who can create a space can become admin of that space through App Within Minutes. The admin right implies the script…

more

right and thus allows JavaScript injection. The vulnerability can be exploited by creating an app in App Within Minutes. If the button should be disabled because the user doesn't have global edit right, the app can also be created by directly opening `/xwiki/bin/view/AppWithinMinutes/CreateApplication?wizard=true` on the XWiki installation. This has been patched in XWiki 13.10.11, 14.4.8, 14.10.1 and 15.0 RC1 by not granting the space admin right if the user doesn't have script right on the space where the app is created. Error message are displayed to warn the user that the app will be broken in this case. Users who became space admin through this vulnerability won't loose the space admin right due to the fix, so it is advised to check if all users who created AWM apps should keep their space admin rights. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1185 Browser Session Hijacking Collection
Adversaries may take advantage of security vulnerabilities and inherent functionality in browser software to change content, modify user-behaviors, and intercept information as part of various browser session hijacking techniques.
T1539 Steal Web Session Cookie Credential Access
An adversary may steal web application or service session cookies and use them to gain access to web applications or Internet services as an authenticated user without needing credentials.
T1659 Content Injection Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access and continuously communicate with victims by injecting malicious content into systems through online network traffic.
T1189 Drive-by Compromise Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access to a system through a user visiting a website over the normal course of browsing.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-40176Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-35162Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-34464Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29201Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29202Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-26480Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29506Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29205Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-35155Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-45134Same product: Xwiki Xwiki

Affected Assets

xwiki
xwiki
≤ 13.10.11 · 14.0 — 14.4.8 · 14.5 — 14.10.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.1.2
  • 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-79

Penetration testing submits XSS payloads to web applications, detecting cross-site scripting flaws for subsequent remediation.

addresses: CWE-79

Validates web inputs to reject script-related content that could produce XSS.

addresses: CWE-79

Output validation against expected content can reject or sanitize script content in generated web pages, reducing XSS exploitability.

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 target introduction of XSS via coding standards/testing (mostly), yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors unaddressed (partial).

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching and EOL replacement can remediate known XSS instances in libraries or frameworks (partial) but do nothing to enforce input neutralization in application code (none).

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

Secure-coding testing and automated code-analysis tools are applied to detect improper neutralization of script-related content during web-page generation.

prevents

Knowledge exchange on emerging attack techniques and patches reduces the likelihood that cross-site scripting flaws remain unaddressed in deployed applications.

prevents

Operational indicators of compromise for web-application attacks can be incorporated into WAF or input-filtering rules, lowering the likelihood that unsanitized data reaches the browser.

prevents

Requiring language-specific secure-coding standards and automated scanning during the SDLC catches missing output encoding or improper neutralization of untrusted data before the software reaches production.

prevents

Secure-coding standards, SAST scans and removal of insecure code samples together eliminate the failure to neutralize script content that produces cross-site scripting flaws.

none

Webpage malware scanning and block-listing of known malicious sites reduce the likelihood that reflected or stored script payloads reach a user’s browser.

References