CVE-2024-38369: XWiki programming rights may be inherited by inclusion

Should you act?

Critical, preconditions apply

Severe if exploited, but exploitation needs conditions that may not apply to you. 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 and CISA’s SSVC assessment records no known exploitation. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
• EPSS 0.3%, percentile 26: FIRST’s model estimates a 0.3% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 26% of all scored CVEs (low). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
• Needs an account (low (any account)). Exposure depends on who can log in.
• Only applies if your dependency tree includes org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rendering-macro-include (Maven) < 15.0-rc-1, fixed in 15.0-rc-1. 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. The content of a document included using {{include reference="targetdocument"/}} is executed with the right of the includer and not with the right of its author. This means that any user able to modify the target document can impersonate the author of the content which used the include macro. This vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 15.0 RC1 by making the default behavior safe.

From the GitHub advisory

Impact

The content of a document included using {{include reference="targetdocument"/}} is executed with the right of the includer and not with the right of its author.

This means that any user able to modify the target document can impersonate the author of the content which used the include macro.

Patches

This has been patched in XWiki 15.0 RC1 by making the default behavior safe.

Weakness type: CWE-863.

Product: org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rendering-macro-include (Maven) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2024-06-24

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

• Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
• Attack complexity: low
• Privileges required: low (any account)
• 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 none, automatable no, technical impact total.
• FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 0.34% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 26.

Timeline

• 2024-06-24 — CVE record published by GitHub_M
• 2024-06-24 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-qcj3-wpgm-qpxh published (critical)
• 2024-08-02 — 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-qcj3-wpgm-qpxh github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2024-38369 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2024-38369 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. github.com github.com
5. github.com github.com
6. github.com github.com
7. jira.xwiki.org jira.xwiki.org
8. jira.xwiki.org jira.xwiki.org

Critical Maven advisories · Today’s Security Digest