Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-45135

Xwiki 7.3 – 14.10.12

Public PoC
Published
25 October 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / 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 0.017 76th percentile
Risk Priority 69 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-45135 is a critical-severity Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output (CWE-116) vulnerability in Xwiki Xwiki. Its CVSS base score is 9.0 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Content Injection (T1659); ranked in the top 24% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

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. In `org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web` versions 7.2-milestone-2 until 14.10.12 and `org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates` prior to versions 14.10.12 and 15.5-rc-1, it is possible to pass a title to the…

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page creation action that isn't displayed at first but then executed in the second step. This can be used by an attacker to trick a victim to execute code, allowing script execution if the victim has script right or remote code execution including full access to the XWiki instance if the victim has programming right. For the attack to work, the attacker needs to convince the victim to visit a link like `<xwiki-host>/xwiki/bin/create/NonExistingSpace/WebHome?title=$services.logging.getLogger(%22foo%22).error(%22Script%20executed!%22)` where `<xwiki-host>` is the URL of the Wiki installation and to then click on the "Create" button on that page. The page looks like a regular XWiki page that the victim would also see when clicking the button to create a page that doesn't exist yet, the malicious code is not displayed anywhere on that page. After clicking the "Create" button, the malicious title would be displayed but at this point, the code has already been executed and the attacker could use this code also to hide the attack, e.g., by redirecting the victim again to the same page with an innocent title. It thus seems plausible that this attack could work if the attacker can place a fake "create page" button on a page which is possible with edit right. This has been patched in `org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web` version 14.10.12 and `org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates` versions 14.10.12 and 15.5-rc-1 by displaying the title already in the first step such that the victim can notice the attack before continuing. It is possible to manually patch the modified files from the patch in an existing installation. For the JavaScript change, the minified JavaScript file would need to be obtained from a build of XWiki and replaced accordingly.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1659 Content Injection Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access and continuously communicate with victims by injecting malicious content into systems through online network traffic.
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.
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-26472Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2024-55663Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-32071Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2025-32974Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2022-36099Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2022-36100Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-36469Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29527Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29526Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29519Same product: Xwiki Xwiki

Affected Assets

xwiki
xwiki
7.2 · 7.3 — 14.10.12 · 15.0 — 15.5

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
  • V1.2.1
  • V1.2.3

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-116

Validating that output matches expected content directly mitigates failures to properly encode or escape data for its destination context.

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 proper output encoding to prevent injection and message malformation.

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.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly require correct output encoding and escaping to preserve message structure.

finds

Security testing can detect missing or incorrect encoding but does not itself implement the control.

prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates output encoding/escaping practices that directly prevent improper encoding.

prevents

Application security requirements include explicit rules for safe output handling and encoding.

prevents

Secure architecture principles reduce the likelihood of missing encoding but do not prescribe the actual technique.

References