CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2023-40177 — XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform offering runtime services for applications built on top of it

Critical CVSS 9.9

XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform offering runtime services for applications built on top of it. Any registered user can use the content field of their user profile page to execute arbitrary scripts with programming rights, thus effectively performing rights escalation. This issue is present since version 4.3M2 when AppWithinMinutes Application added support for the Content field, allowing any wiki page (including the user profile page) to use its content as an AWM Content field, which has a custom displayer that executes the content with the rights of the ``AppWithinMinutes.Content`` author, rather than the rights of the content author. The vulnerability has been fixed in XWiki 14.10.5 and 15.1RC1. The fix is in the content of the AppWithinMinutes.Content page that defines the custom displayer. By using the ``display`` script service to render the content we make sure that the proper author is used for access rights checks.

Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.9 (3.1)
Published
2023-08-23
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-95, CWE-94

Affected products

  • xwiki / xwiki
  • xwiki / xwiki / 4.3
  • xwiki / xwiki / 15.0

Showing 3 representative product identities from 4 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Command, code, expression, and template injection

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Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted values to process execution, interpreters, evaluators, template engines, dynamic imports, and administrative scripting features.
  • Determine whether the affected path is reachable across each trust boundary and which service account or host privilege it inherits.
  • Review configuration for optional execution features, unsafe compatibility modes, and shell invocation.

Remediate safely

  • Replace string-built commands or evaluated code with fixed operations and structured argument APIs that do not invoke a shell.
  • Use strict allowlists for operation identifiers and reject unexpected input before it reaches any interpreter.
  • Update the affected component and add inert regression tests covering metacharacters, encoding variants, and alternate request paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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