Security Resilience

CVE-2023-48241

Access Control in Xwiki 6.4 – 14.10.5

Published
20 November 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.73 99.4th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-48241 is a high-severity Improper Authorization (CWE-285) vulnerability in Xwiki Xwiki. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.6% 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 versions from 6.3-milestone-2 through 14.10.14, 15.5, and 15.6RC0 contain an information disclosure vulnerability in the Solr-based search suggestion provider. This component also functions as a generic JavaScript API for search results and, by default, is accessible without authentication. The flaw allows any user to retrieve document contents across all wikis by requesting specific Solr fields that bypass the normal rights-check logic, exposing nearly all stored data except protected items such as password hashes.

An unauthenticated attacker can exploit the issue over the network by crafting direct Solr queries that omit the fields used for access-control verification. Successful exploitation yields read access to the full text of every document in every wiki instance, resulting in a CVSS 7.5 confidentiality impact with no requirement for user interaction or privileges.

The XWiki security advisory and associated commits state that the vulnerability is resolved in 14.10.15, 15.5.1, and 15.6RC1 by ensuring that only documents whose rights can be verified are returned in results; no workarounds are documented. The EPSS score has reached 0.69 with no indicated rise from a lower baseline.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform. Starting in version 6.3-milestone-2 and prior to versions 14.10.15, 15.5.1, and 15.6RC1, the Solr-based search suggestion provider that also duplicates as generic JavaScript API for search results in XWiki exposes the content of…

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all documents of all wikis to anybody who has access to it, by default it is public. This exposes all information stored in the wiki (but not some protected information like password hashes). While there is a right check normally, the right check can be circumvented by explicitly requesting fields from Solr that don't include the data for the right check. This has been fixed in XWiki 15.6RC1, 15.5.1 and 14.10.15 by not listing documents whose rights cannot be checked. No known workarounds are available.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-32972Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2025-48063Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2025-29926Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-26470Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2025-24893Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29509Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2024-55879Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2025-49581Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-45134Same product: Xwiki Xwiki
CVE-2023-29201Same product: Xwiki Xwiki

Affected Assets

xwiki
xwiki
6.3 · 6.4 — 14.10.5 · 15.0 — 15.5.1

Mitigating Controls

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-285

Documented procedures facilitate correct implementation and ongoing management of authorization decisions.

addresses: CWE-285

Periodic reviews identify and correct flaws in authorization decisions or enforcement.

addresses: CWE-285

The control's documentation requirement reduces improper authorization by ensuring only mission-justified actions bypass authentication.

addresses: CWE-285

Establishing permitted attributes and values, plus auditing changes, ensures authorization decisions are based on correctly managed policy data.

addresses: CWE-285

Explicitly mandates authorizing remote access types before permitting connections, directly mitigating improper authorization.

addresses: CWE-285

The control explicitly requires authorization of each wireless access type prior to permitting connections.

addresses: CWE-285

Mandating explicit authorization of mobile device connections reduces the risk of improper authorization decisions for system access.

addresses: CWE-285

Specifying access authorizations for each account and requiring approvals for account requests enforces proper authorization decisions.

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.

blocks

A.5.1 only requires the existence of an overarching policy and topic-specific policies (including on access control); it does not itself perform or enforce any authorization check, so the CWE-285 weakness can still be exploited.

blocks

Mapping access rights to information classification and business requirements forces correct enforcement of authorization decisions, blocking the incorrect authorization weakness at the policy and implementation stage.

finds

Independent reviewers evaluate whether authorization logic matches policy, thereby reducing the window in which incorrect or missing authorization checks remain in production.

finds

By requiring managers to verify that authorization decisions match policy and to remediate deviations, the control limits the persistence of incorrect or missing authorization checks.

blocks

Requiring authorization processes and privilege assignments to be specified during project initiation prevents downstream components from receiving overly broad or incorrect rights that would allow unauthorized actions.

blocks

A.8.3 directly mandates and configures the authorization mechanisms (identity/group rights, dynamic access rules, isolation, credential enforcement) that stop CWE-285 exploitation; the bounded remainder is non-authorization exposure vectors such as error messages or observable discrepancies.

Hardening callouts derived

DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.

  • No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-285, a class-level weakness. Rules are authored against its narrower children: CWE-552.

References