CVE-2023-48240
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in XWiki Platform allows attackers to steal login and session cookies via image embedding in rendered diffs, enabling user impersonation. It also permits server-side request forgery and exposes protected content through caching issues. Affects XWiki versions 11.10.1 through 14.10.14, 15.0.0 through 15.5.0, and 15.6 RC1.
💻 Affected Systems
- XWiki Platform
📦 What is this software?
Xwiki by Xwiki
Xwiki by Xwiki
Xwiki by Xwiki
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete account takeover via stolen session cookies, unauthorized access to protected resources, and server-side request forgery to internal systems.
Likely Case
Session hijacking leading to unauthorized wiki access and potential data exposure through cached protected content.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper network segmentation and external image restrictions, though still vulnerable to internal attacks.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (viewing a crafted diff) but is straightforward once triggered.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 14.10.15, 15.5.1, or 15.6
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-7rfg-6273-f5wp
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Backup your XWiki installation. 2. Download and install XWiki 14.10.15, 15.5.1, or 15.6 from xwiki.org. 3. Follow XWiki upgrade documentation. 4. Restart the application server.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable image embedding in diffs
allDelete the diff XML JAR file to disable vulnerable image embedding functionality
rm WEB-INF/lib/xwiki-platform-diff-xml-*.jar
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network controls to prevent XWiki from making external HTTP requests
- Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) to block malicious image URLs and cookie exfiltration attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check XWiki version via Admin → About or verify if xwiki-platform-diff-xml-*.jar exists in WEB-INF/lib/Check Version:
Check XWiki web interface at /xwiki/bin/view/Admin/About or examine xwiki.cfg fileVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm version is 14.10.15, 15.5.1, or 15.6+ via Admin → About📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual external image requests from XWiki server
- Multiple failed authentication attempts following diff views
Network Indicators:
- Outbound HTTP requests from XWiki to unexpected domains
- Cookie data in image request headers to external domains
SIEM Query:
source="xwiki.log" AND "GET /bin/view/Diff/" AND "image" AND ("http://" OR "https://")🔗 References
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/bff0203e739b6e3eb90af5736f04278c73c2a8bb
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-7rfg-6273-f5wp
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20818
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/bff0203e739b6e3eb90af5736f04278c73c2a8bb
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-7rfg-6273-f5wp
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20818
