Security Digest · Vulnerability record
CVE-2023-48292: Run Shell Command allows Cross-Site Request Forgery
The XWiki Admin Tools Application provides tools to help the administration of XWiki.
CVSS 9.7 Critical EPSS 22.9% · p98
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.
- No confirmed exploitation. It is not in CISA’s KEV catalog. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
- EPSS 22.9%, percentile 98: FIRST’s model estimates a 22.9% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 98% of all scored CVEs (very high). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
- Needs a user to click or open something. Phishing makes that realistic, but it is not wormable.
- Only applies if your dependency tree includes
org.xwiki.contrib:xwiki-application-admintools(Maven) >= 4.4, < 4.5.1, fixed in 4.5.1. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.
What it is
The XWiki Admin Tools Application provides tools to help the administration of XWiki. Starting in version 4.4 and prior to version 4.5.1, a cross site request forgery vulnerability in the admin tool for executing shell commands on the server allows an attacker to execute arbitrary shell commands by tricking an admin into loading the URL with the shell command. A very simple possibility for an attack are comments. When the attacker can leave a comment on any page in the wiki it is sufficient to include an image with an URL like /xwiki/bin/view/Admin/RunShellCommand?command=touch%20/tmp/attacked in the comment. When an admin views the comment, the file /tmp/attacked will be created on the server. The output of the command is also vulnerable to XWiki syntax injection which offers a simple way to execute Groovy in the context of the XWiki installation and thus an even easier way to compromise the integrity and confidentiality of the whole XWiki installation. This has been patched by adding a form token check in version 4.5.1 of the admin tools. Some workarounds are available. The patch can be applied manually to the affected wiki pages. Alternatively, the document Admin.RunShellCommand can also be deleted if the possibility to run shell commands isn't needed.
From the GitHub advisory
Impact A cross site request forgery vulnerability in the admin tool for executing shell commands on the server allows an attacker to execute arbitrary shell commands by tricking an admin into loading the URL with the shell command. A very simple possibility for an attack are comments. When the attacker can leave a comment on any page in the wiki it is sufficient to include an image with an URL like /xwiki/bin/view/Admin/RunShellCommand?command=touch%20/tmp/attacked in the comment. When an admin views the comment, the file /tmp/attacked will be created on the server. The output of the command is also vulnerable to XWiki syntax injection which offers a simple way to execute Groovy in the context of the XWiki installation and thus an even easier way to compromise the integrity and confidentiality of the whole XWiki installation.
Patches This has been patched by adding a form token check in version 4.5.1 of the admin tools.
Workarounds The patch can be applied manually to the affected wiki pages. Alternatively, the document Admin.RunShellCommand can also be deleted if the possibility to run shell commands isn't needed.
References https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/ADMINTOOL-91 https://github.com/xwiki-contrib/application-admintools/commit/03815c505c9f37006a0c56495e862dc549a39da8
Weakness type: CWE-352.
Product: org.xwiki.contrib:xwiki-application-admintools (Maven) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2023-11-20
Affected and fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable | First fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maven | org.xwiki.contrib:xwiki-application-admintools | >= 4.4, < 4.5.1 | 4.5.1 |
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions (per CVE record) |
|---|---|---|
| xwiki-contrib | application-admintools | >= 4.4, < 4.5.1 |
Severity scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub_M | 3.1 | 9.7 Critical | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| GitHub | 3.1 | 9.6 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H |
- Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
- Attack complexity: low
- Privileges required: none (no login)
- User interaction: required (a user must click/open something)
- 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).
- FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 22.94% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 98.
Timeline
- — CVE record published by GitHub_M
- — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-8jpr-ff92-hpf9 published (critical)
- — 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
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-8jpr-ff92-hpf9 github.com
- CVE.org record CVE-2023-48292 cve.org
- NVD entry CVE-2023-48292 nvd.nist.gov
Other references from the CVE record and advisory
- github.com github.com
- github.com github.com
- jira.xwiki.org jira.xwiki.org