Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2025-23025 is a critical-severity Missing Authorization (CWE-862) vulnerability in Xwiki Xwiki. Its CVSS base score is 9.0 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 34th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-24 (Access Control Decisions) and AC-25 (Reference Monitor) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
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's Realtime WYSIWYG Editor extension, which became enabled by default starting in version 16.9.0 after previously being experimental, contains an authorization flaw tracked as CVE-2025-23025. A user holding only edit rights can join an active realtime editing session and insert script rendering macros that execute in the context of other participants who possess script or programming rights, enabling privilege escalation. The issue is classified under CWE-862 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.0.
An attacker with minimal edit access can leverage the realtime session to run arbitrary scripts against higher-privileged users already present or who join later, thereby obtaining elevated rights within the wiki instance. The vulnerability affects XWiki versions prior to the patches released in 15.10.2, 16.4.1, and 16.6.0-rc-1.
Official advisories recommend upgrading to one of the fixed releases. Where upgrades are not feasible, administrators can disable the xwiki-realtime CKEditor plugin through the WYSIWYG editor administration section or uninstall the org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-realtime-wysiwyg-ui extension entirely.
The associated EPSS score rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.0505 on 2025-12-11 before receding to the current value of 0.0295, indicating increased exploitation interest after disclosure.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-0066
Vulnerability Data
XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform offering runtime services for applications built on top of it. NOTE: The Realtime WYSIWYG Editor extension was **experimental**, and thus **not recommended**, in the versions affected by this vulnerability. It has become enabled…
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by default, and thus recommended, starting with XWiki 16.9.0. A user with only **edit right** can join a realtime editing session where others, that where already there or that may join later, have **script** or **programming** access rights. This user can then insert **script rendering macros** that are executed for those users in the realtime session that have script or programming rights. The inserted scripts can be used to gain more access rights. This vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 15.10.2, 16.4.1 and 16.6.0-rc-1. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade may either disable the realtime WYSIWYG editing by disabling the ``xwiki-realtime`` CKEditor plugin from the WYSIWYG editor administration section or uninstall the Realtime WYSIWYG Editorextension (org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-realtime-wysiwyg-ui).
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 5 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
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Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
AC-3 directly requires enforcement of authorization decisions on every access request, structurally eliminating missing authorization checks.
AC-24 mandates that access control decisions are applied to each request, preventing bypass of authorization logic.
AC-25 requires a tamperproof, always-invoked reference monitor that ensures authorization checks cannot be omitted.
AC-6 reduces the set of actions reachable without proper authorization, limiting blast radius of missing checks.
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.
Explicitly requires defining, enforcing, and reviewing authorizations and least privilege, directly preventing missing authorization checks.
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.
Requiring authentication and credentials before any access occurs eliminates the absence of authorization checks that would otherwise allow an unauthenticated actor to reach protected resources.
Requiring formal authorization of every access request before rights are granted ensures that checks for required permissions are performed, preventing missing authorization checks from being introduced.
Mandatory authorization checks and central records of granted rights ensure that every access attempt is preceded by an explicit decision rather than relying on missing checks.
Segregating the approval of access rights from their implementation provides an independent check that reduces the impact of missing authorization checks in the resulting system configuration.
By requiring competent outsiders to verify that every function enforces the need-to-know principle, the control lowers the likelihood that missing authorization checks persist undetected.
Defining authorization responsibilities and reviewing risk-treatment progress throughout the project lifecycle catches missing authorization checks before the system is deployed.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
- V-248581 OL 8 must require users to provide a password for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-862
- V-252656 The OL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-862
RHEL 7 (2 rules)
- V-251704 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-862
- V-204429 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that users must provide a password for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-862