Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-40176

XSS in Xwiki 4.1.1 – 14.10.5

High EPSSXSS
Published
23 August 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.0
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.79 99.6th percentile
Risk Priority 88 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-40176 is a critical-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability in Xwiki Xwiki. Its CVSS base score is 9.0 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Browser Session Hijacking (T1185); ranked in the top 0.4% 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 stored cross-site scripting vulnerability in its user profile handling of the time zone preference. Any registered user can store a malicious payload in this field, which is rendered without escaping when the profile is viewed. The flaw has existed since version 4.1M2, when the time zone preference was introduced, and affects the platform's runtime wiki services.

An authenticated attacker can bypass the dropdown selector by using browser developer tools or by directly invoking the profile save URL with a crafted query string. Once stored, the payload executes in the context of any user who visits the malicious profile, enabling theft of session data or escalation to programming rights under the CVSS 9.0 vector that combines network access, low complexity, and required user interaction.

The official XWiki security advisory and associated patches state that the issue is resolved in versions 14.10.5 and 15.1RC1; administrators should upgrade to these releases. The fix is documented in the referenced GitHub commit that adds proper escaping to the time zone display.

The CVE carries an EPSS score that reached a peak of 0.3658, indicating measurable post-disclosure interest among threat actors.

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 registered user can exploit a stored XSS through their user profile by setting the payload as the value of the time zone…

more

user preference. Even though the time zone is selected from a drop down (no free text value) it can still be set from JavaScript (using the browser developer tools) or by calling the save URL on the user profile with the right query string. Once the time zone is set it is displayed without escaping which means the payload gets executed for any user that visits the malicious user profile, allowing the attacker to steal information and even gain more access rights (escalation to programming rights). This issue is present since version 4.1M2 when the time zone user preference was introduced. The issue has been fixed in XWiki 14.10.5 and 15.1RC1.

CWE(s)
CWE-79

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.
attack.mitre.org →
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.
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 →
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.
attack.mitre.org →
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 →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

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-2023-29515Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-45134Same product: Xwiki Xwiki

Affected Assets

xwiki
xwiki
15.0, 4.1 · 4.1.1 — 14.10.5

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.

CA-8 Penetration Testing
addresses: CWE-79

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

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-79

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

SI-15 Information Output Filtering
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.

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

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

A.5.6 Contact with special interest groups partial match
prevents

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

A.5.7 Threat intelligence partial match
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.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
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.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
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.

A.8.7 Protection against malware none match
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