CVE-2023-46731: XWiki Platform vulnerable to remote code execution through the section parameter in Administration as guest

Should you act?

High exploit likelihood

EPSS ranks it in the top 5% of all CVEs for likely exploitation in the next 30 days. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

• Not in CISA KEV, but CISA’s SSVC assessment records a public proof-of-concept, so attack code exists.
• EPSS 88.5%, percentile 99.8: FIRST’s model estimates a 88.5% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 99.8% of all scored CVEs (very high). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
• Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
• Only applies if your dependency tree includes org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui (Maven) < 14.10.14, fixed in 14.10.14; org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui (Maven) >= 15.0-rc-1, < 15.5.1, fixed in 15.5.1; org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration (Maven) < 14.10.14, fixed in 14.10.14. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

What it is

XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform offering runtime services for applications built on top of it. XWiki doesn't properly escape the section URL parameter that is used in the code for displaying administration sections. This allows any user with read access to the document XWiki.AdminSheet (by default, everyone including unauthenticated users) to execute code including Groovy code. This impacts the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki instance. This vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 14.10.14, 15.6 RC1 and 15.5.1. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unablr to upgrade may apply the fix in commit fec8e0e53f9 manually. Alternatively, to protect against attacks from unauthenticated users, view right for guests can be removed from this document (it is only needed for space and wiki admins).

From the GitHub advisory

Impact XWiki doesn't properly escape the section URL parameter that is used in the code for displaying administration sections. This allows any user with read access to the document XWiki.AdminSheet (by default, everyone including unauthenticated users) to execute code including Groovy code. This impacts the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki instance.

By opening the URL /xwiki/bin/get/Main/WebHome?sheet=XWiki.AdminSheet&viewer=content&section=%5D%5D%7B%7B%2Fhtml%7D%7D%7B%7Basync%7D%7D%7B%7Bgroovy%7D%7Dservices.logging.getLogger(%22attacker%22).error(%22Attack%20succeeded!%22)%7B%7B%2Fgroovy%7D%7D%7B%7B%2Fasync%7D%7D&xpage=view where is the URL of the XWiki installation, it can be tested if an XWiki installation is vulnerable. If this causes a log message ERROR attacker - Attack succeeded! to appear in XWiki's log, the installation is vulnerable. In very old versions of XWiki, the attack can be demonstrated with /xwiki/bin/get/XWiki/XWikiPreferences?section=%3C%25println(%22Hello%20from%20Groovy%22)%25%3E&xpage=view which displays admin.hello from groovy as title when the attack succeeds (tested on XWiki 1.7).

Patches This vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 14.10.14, 15.6 RC1 and 15.5.1.

Workarounds The fix, which consists of replacing = $services.localization.render("administration.sectionTitle$level", [$sectionName]) = by = $services.localization.render("administration.sectionTitle$level", 'xwiki/2.1', [$sectionName]) =, can be applied manually to the document XWiki.AdminSheet.

References https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-21110 https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/fec8e0e53f9fa2c3f1e568cc15b0e972727c803a

Weakness type: CWE-94, CWE-95.

Product: org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui (Maven) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2023-11-06

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

• Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
• Attack complexity: low
• Privileges required: none (no login)
• User interaction: none
• Scope: changed (can affect other components)

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

• CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
• CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation poc, automatable yes, technical impact total.
• FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 88.53% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 99.8.

Timeline

• 2023-11-06 — CVE record published by GitHub_M
• 2023-11-08 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-62pr-qqf7-hh89 published (critical)
• 2024-09-05 — CVE record last updated

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Vulnerability records

1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-62pr-qqf7-hh89 github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2023-46731 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2023-46731 nvd.nist.gov

Other references from the CVE record and advisory

1. github.com github.com
2. github.com github.com
3. github.com github.com
4. jira.xwiki.org jira.xwiki.org

Critical Maven advisories · Today’s Security Digest