CVE-2023-29507
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in XWiki Commons allows attackers to manipulate document authorship through the Document script API, bypassing access controls. This can lead to privilege escalation and unauthorized script execution. Affects XWiki installations using vulnerable versions of XWiki Commons libraries.
💻 Affected Systems
- XWiki Commons
- XWiki Platform
📦 What is this software?
Xwiki by Xwiki
Xwiki by Xwiki
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise through privilege escalation to administrative rights, allowing data theft, modification, or destruction.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to sensitive documents, privilege escalation to edit protected content, or execution of malicious scripts.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper network segmentation and least privilege principles are enforced, though local privilege escalation may still occur.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access to execute scripts, but once authenticated, the vulnerability is straightforward to exploit.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: XWiki 14.10 or 14.4.7
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-pwfv-3cvg-9m4c
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Backup your XWiki installation. 2. Upgrade to XWiki 14.10 or 14.4.7. 3. Restart the XWiki application server. 4. Verify the patch is applied by checking the version.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict Script Execution
allLimit script execution permissions to trusted users only through XWiki's rights management.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls to limit who can execute scripts in XWiki.
- Monitor and audit all script execution activities for suspicious behavior.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check XWiki version via Admin interface or by examining the installation directory. If version is below 14.10 and not 14.4.7, it's vulnerable.Check Version:
Check XWiki Admin dashboard or examine xwiki-version.txt in installation directory.Verify Fix Applied:
After patching, verify the version is 14.10 or 14.4.7 and test that document authorship cannot be manipulated via script API.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual document authorship changes
- Script execution by unexpected users
- Access control violation logs
Network Indicators:
- Unusual API calls to document script endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="xwiki.log" AND ("DocumentAuthors" OR "script API" OR "access denied")🔗 References
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/905cdd7c421dbf8c565557cdc773ab1aa9028f83
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-pwfv-3cvg-9m4c
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20380
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/905cdd7c421dbf8c565557cdc773ab1aa9028f83
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-pwfv-3cvg-9m4c
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20380
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20380
