Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2025-51991 is a high-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability in Xwiki Xwiki. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Browser Session Hijacking (T1185); ranked in the top 12% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — 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 through version 17.3.0 contains a server-side template injection vulnerability in its Administration interface, specifically the HTTP Meta Info field within the Global Preferences Presentation section. The flaw stems from insufficient validation or sandboxing of user-supplied Apache Velocity template code during dynamic rendering of configuration fields, allowing arbitrary template logic to execute on the server. It is tracked under CWE-79 and CWE-94 with a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8.
An authenticated administrator can supply crafted template expressions that execute without restriction, potentially disclosing internal server details or, depending on the deployment configuration, enabling remote code execution and sensitive data exposure. The attack requires no user interaction beyond administrative access and can be performed over the network.
The associated EPSS score remains flat at 0.0365 with no observed rise after disclosure, and no information on real-world exploitation or available patches is provided in the source data.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-25310
Vulnerability Data
XWiki through version 17.3.0 is vulnerable to Server-Side Template Injection (SSTI) in the Administration interface, specifically within the HTTP Meta Info field of the Global Preferences Presentation section. An authenticated administrator can inject crafted Apache Velocity template code, which is…
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rendered on the server side without proper validation or sandboxing. This enables the execution of arbitrary template logic, which may expose internal server information or, in specific configurations, lead to further exploitation such as remote code execution or sensitive data leakage. The vulnerability resides in improper handling of dynamic template rendering within user-supplied configuration fields.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation can discover missing or incorrect input neutralization through targeted web-application tests.
Input validation directly enforces neutralization of untrusted data before it reaches web output generation.
Output filtering can catch or sanitize unneutralized script content before it is served to users.
Least privilege limits the damage an injected code fragment can perform once executed.
Requiring documented secure development standards and tools enforces use of safe code-generation APIs and escaping.
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.
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).
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).
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.
Secure-coding testing and automated code-analysis tools are applied to detect improper neutralization of script-related content during web-page generation.
Knowledge exchange on emerging attack techniques and patches reduces the likelihood that cross-site scripting flaws remain unaddressed in deployed applications.
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.
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.
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.
Webpage malware scanning and block-listing of known malicious sites reduce the likelihood that reflected or stored script payloads reach a user’s browser.