Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-29521

Xwiki ≤ 13.10.11

Public PoC
Published
19 April 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.4
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L
EPSS Score 0.011 64th percentile
Risk Priority 69 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-29521 is a high-severity Injection (CWE-74) vulnerability in Xwiki Xwiki. Its CVSS base score is 8.4 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 36% 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 Platform, a generic wiki platform for building applications, contains an improper escaping flaw in the Macro.VFSTreeMacro component. This allows any user with view rights to execute arbitrary Groovy, Python, or Velocity code, granting full access to the XWiki installation. The macro is not present by default, and the issue is tracked under CWE-74 with a CVSS score of 8.4.

An attacker with view rights on an affected instance can leverage the macro to run code that bypasses intended restrictions, achieving complete control over the server environment. Exploitation requires network access but no user interaction beyond the granted view permission, and the attack surface is limited to deployments where the macro has been manually added.

Official advisories from the XWiki project and the associated GitHub security notice direct users to upgrade to versions 15.0-rc-1, 14.10.2, 14.4.8, or 13.10.11, where the escaping issue has been corrected. No workarounds are documented.

The EPSS score remains flat at 0.1493 with no material increase after disclosure, and no public reports of active exploitation have been noted in the provided references.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform offering runtime services for applications built on top of it. Any user with view rights can execute arbitrary Groovy, Python or Velocity code in XWiki leading to full access to the XWiki installation.…

more

The root cause is improper escaping of `Macro.VFSTreeMacro`. This page is not installed by default.This vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 15.0-rc-1, 14.10.2, 14.4.8, 13.10.11. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

CWE(s)
CWE-74

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

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.
attack.mitre.org →
T1221 Template Injection Stealth
Adversaries may create or modify references in user document templates to conceal malicious code or force authentication attempts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1659 Content Injection Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access and continuously communicate with victims by injecting malicious content into systems through online network traffic.
attack.mitre.org →
T1674 Input Injection Execution
Adversaries may simulate keystrokes on a victim’s computer by various means to perform any type of action on behalf of the user, such as launching the command interpreter using keyboard shortcuts, typing an inline script to be executed,…
attack.mitre.org →
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-29512Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29510Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29516Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-36469Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29526Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29518Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29524Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29527Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29519Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-36470Same product: Xwiki Xwiki

Affected Assets

xwiki
xwiki
≤ 13.10.11 · 14.0 — 14.4.8 · 14.5 — 14.10.2

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)
  • V1.2.1
  • V1.2.3
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8

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.

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation
addresses: CWE-74

Developer assessments and testing (including injection-focused techniques) identify improper neutralization of special elements, and the verifiable flaw remediation corrects them pre-deployment.

SI-4 System Monitoring
addresses: CWE-74

Identifies indicators of injection attacks (command, SQL, LDAP, etc.) via anomaly and attack monitoring.

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 validation and output encoding that prevent injection flaws.

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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development catches injection vulnerabilities before release.

A.8.15 Logging partial match
finds

Logging supports detection of injection attempts but does not prevent the weakness.

A.8.16 Monitoring activities partial match
finds

Monitoring activities can identify active injection attacks after they occur.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and output encoding that directly prevent injection flaws.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against injection attacks in software design.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles reduce injection surfaces but do not prescribe specific neutralization techniques.

References