Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-36470

Xwiki 6.2 – 14.10.6

Public PoC
Published
29 June 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View 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 0.019 78th percentile
Risk Priority 79 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-36470 is a critical-severity Injection (CWE-74) vulnerability in Xwiki Xwiki. Its CVSS base score is 9.9 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 22% 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, contains an injection vulnerability in its icon set handling that permits untrusted users to supply XWiki syntax and Velocity code. The flaw exists in the icon picker, the rendering of icon themes, and the JSON output consumed by the picker; any of these paths can cause the injected code to execute with programming rights.

An authenticated attacker who can create or edit a document containing an icon set, or who can modify the currently active icon theme, can achieve remote code execution on the XWiki instance. Successful exploitation grants full control over confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the server.

The project has released patches in XWiki 14.10.6 and 15.1 that require script right on icon themes, execute icon-theme code only within the theme’s own context, and introduce a dedicated macro for icon display to avoid raw syntax injection. Users are advised to upgrade; no workarounds are documented.

The EPSS score rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.1435 (current value 0.1261), indicating that exploitation interest increased after disclosure.

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. By either creating a new or editing an existing document with an icon set, an attacker can inject XWiki syntax and Velocity code…

more

that is executed with programming rights and thus allows remote code execution. There are different attack vectors, the simplest is the Velocity code in the icon set's HTML or XWiki syntax definition. The [icon picker](https://extensions.xwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Extension/Icon%20Theme%20Application#HIconPicker) can be used to trigger the rendering of any icon set. The XWiki syntax variant of the icon set is also used without any escaping in some documents, allowing to inject XWiki syntax including script macros into a document that might have programming right, for this the currently used icon theme needs to be edited. Further, the HTML output of the icon set is output as JSON in the icon picker and this JSON is interpreted as XWiki syntax, allowing again the injection of script macros into a document with programming right and thus allowing remote code execution. This impacts the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki instance. This issue has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and 15.1. Icon themes now require script right and the code in the icon theme is executed within the context of the icon theme, preventing any rights escalation. A macro for displaying icons has been introduced to avoid injecting the raw wiki syntax of an icon set into another document. 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-2023-29521Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29524Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29527Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29519Same product: Xwiki Xwiki

Affected Assets

xwiki
xwiki
15.0, 15.1 · 6.2 — 14.10.6

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