Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-37909

RCE in Xwiki 5.1 – 14.10.8

Public PoCRCE
Published
25 October 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 0.016 74th percentile
Risk Priority 77 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-37909 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 26% 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 versions from 5.1-rc-1 through 14.10.7 and 15.2 allow any user able to edit their own profile page to execute arbitrary script macros, including Groovy and Python, because the Menu.UIExtensionSheet document lacked proper escaping of user-controlled content. The flaw is tracked as CWE-95 and CWE-94 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.9.

An authenticated attacker with only profile-edit rights can therefore obtain unrestricted remote code execution and read/write access to every wiki document. No additional privileges or user interaction are required, and the attack can be performed over the network.

The project has released XWiki 14.10.8 and 15.3-rc-1, which add output escaping to the affected sheet. The same three-line change can be applied manually as a workaround, and the fix is documented in the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-v2rr-xw95-wcjx together with the corresponding Jira issue XWIKI-20746.

EPSS remains flat at 0.1046 with no material post-disclosure increase.

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. Starting in version 5.1-rc-1 and prior to versions 14.10.8 and 15.3-rc-1, any user who can edit their own user profile can execute arbitrary…

more

script macros including Groovy and Python macros that allow remote code execution including unrestricted read and write access to all wiki contents. This has been patched in XWiki 14.10.8 and 15.3-rc-1 by adding proper escaping. As a workaround, the patch can be manually applied to the document `Menu.UIExtensionSheet`; only three lines need to be changed.

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-2023-26477Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-40177Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29210Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-35152Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-35150Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29211Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29209Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-30537Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2024-31465Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29214Same product: Xwiki Xwiki

Affected Assets

xwiki
xwiki
5.1 — 14.10.8

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)
  • V1.3.1
  • 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.

none

Separation of environments limits the blast radius if eval injection occurs in non-production.

References