Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2023-35160 is a critical-severity Improper Neutralization of Alternate XSS Syntax (CWE-87) vulnerability in Xwiki Xwiki. Its CVSS base score is 9.6 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Browser Session Hijacking (T1185); ranked in the top 19% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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 reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability in its resubmit template that permits an attacker to inject arbitrary Javascript into a rendered page by supplying a crafted URL containing xpage=resubmit along with resubmit and xback parameters. The flaw has existed since version 2.5-milestone-2 and affects any deployment that has not been updated past the affected releases.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the issue simply by inducing a victim to click a malicious link, resulting in Javascript execution in the victim's browser context with the ability to read or modify page content and perform actions on behalf of the user. The CVSS 9.6 score reflects the combination of network attack vector, lack of required privileges, and full impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability when the attack succeeds.
Advisories and patches published by the project state that the vulnerability is resolved in XWiki 14.10.5 and 15.1-rc-1; the corresponding commits and Jira issues XWIKI-20343 and XWIKI-20583 document the code change that removes the unsafe resubmit handling.
The EPSS probability rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.3788 on 2025-01-22 before receding to the current value of 0.1207, indicating that exploitation interest increased measurably after public disclosure.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-1876
Vulnerability Data
XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform offering runtime services for applications built on top of it. Users are able to forge an URL with a payload allowing to inject Javascript in the page (XSS). It's possible to exploit the…
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resubmit template to perform a XSS, e.g. by using URL such as: > xwiki/bin/view/XWiki/Main xpage=resubmit&resubmit=javascript:alert(document.domain)&xback=javascript:alert(document.domain). This vulnerability exists since XWiki 2.5-milestone-2. The vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 14.10.5 and 15.1-rc-1.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V1.1.2V1.3.2
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.
Penetration testing submits XSS payloads to web applications, detecting cross-site scripting flaws for subsequent remediation.
Validates web inputs to reject script-related content that could produce XSS.
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.
Secure SDLC practices directly require proper input neutralization and output encoding to prevent alternate XSS syntax.
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.
Secure coding standards require proper neutralization of alternate script syntax, directly eliminating CWE-87.
Security testing catches residual XSS but does not itself implement the neutralization controls.
Knowledge exchange on emerging attack techniques and patches reduces the likelihood that cross-site scripting flaws remain unaddressed in deployed applications.
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.
Secure SDLC mandates input validation and output encoding that directly prevent alternate XSS syntax.
Application security requirements explicitly call for neutralization of untrusted input to block XSS variants.