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CVE-2023-46731 — Vulnerability in...

CRITICAL

XWiki Platform vulnerable to remote code execution through the section parameter in Administration as guest

Published November 8, 2023Updated September 10, 2026Source: osv

Summary

### 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 `<server>/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 `<server>` 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 `<server>/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](https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/fec8e0e53f9fa2c3f1e568cc15b0e972727c803a#diff-6271f9be501f30b2ba55459eb451aee3413d34171ba8198a77c865306d174e23), 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

Advisory Timeline

  • First published November 8, 2023 (1069 days ago).
  • Last revised September 10, 2026 — 1037 days after initial publication.

Remediation

Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.

Maven
Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui to 14.10.14 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 14.10.14 for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui -->
Maven
Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui to 15.5.1 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 15.5.1 for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui -->
Maven
Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration to 14.10.14 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 14.10.14 for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration -->

After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.

Affected Packages (3)

Affects 1 ecosystem: maven (2).

PackageEcosystemAffectedFixed In
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui
maven
All versions14.10.14
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui
maven
All versions15.5.1
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration
maven
All versions14.10.14

Vulnerability Classification

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifiers for this vulnerability type.

CVSS Score Breakdown

What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 10.0 score means for each attack dimension.

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-46731?
XWiki Platform vulnerable to remote code execution through the section parameter in Administration as guest This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of CRITICAL (CVSS score: 10.0/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2023-46731?
CVE-2023-46731 affects org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui and org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2023-46731 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.

Severity & Exploitability

CVSS Score
10.0

Exploitation is straightforward and causes maximum impact. Patch immediately.

Also Known As

GHSA-62pr-qqf7-hh89

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