CVE-2023-50723
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in XWiki Platform allows any user who can edit a wiki page to gain programming rights through missing escaping in administration interface code. This enables privilege escalation to full system control, affecting all XWiki installations with users who can edit pages (including their own profiles). The vulnerability impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the entire XWiki installation.
💻 Affected Systems
- XWiki Platform
📦 What is this software?
Xwiki by Xwiki
Xwiki by Xwiki
Xwiki by Xwiki
Xwiki by Xwiki
Xwiki by Xwiki
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete compromise of the XWiki instance allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code, access/modify all data, and potentially pivot to underlying infrastructure.
Likely Case
Privileged users or attackers who gain edit access can escalate to programming rights, leading to data theft, content manipulation, and service disruption.
If Mitigated
If proper access controls limit page editing to trusted users only, impact is reduced but still significant for authorized users.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated user with page editing permissions, which most users have by default for their profiles.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 14.10.15, 15.5.2, or 15.7RC1
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-qj86-p74r-7wp5
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Upgrade to XWiki 14.10.15, 15.5.2, or 15.7RC1. 2. Alternatively, manually apply patches to XWiki.ConfigurableClassMacros and XWiki.ConfigurableClass pages as referenced in the advisory. 3. Restart the XWiki service.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict page editing permissions
allTemporarily restrict edit permissions on all wiki pages to only trusted administrators
Use XWiki administration interface to modify page permissions globally
Disable user profile editing
allRemove edit permissions from user profile pages to prevent exploitation via default attack vector
Modify rights for XWiki.XWikiUsers and user profile pages to remove edit permissions
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls to limit page editing to essential administrators only
- Monitor and audit all page edit activities for suspicious patterns
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check XWiki version via administration interface or by examining the installation directory. Versions between 2.3 and below 14.10.15, 15.5.2, or 15.7RC1 are vulnerable.Check Version:
Check XWiki administration dashboard or examine xwiki.properties file for version informationVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 14.10.15, 15.5.2, or 15.7RC1 or higher. Check that patches have been applied to XWiki.ConfigurableClassMacros and XWiki.ConfigurableClass pages.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual page edit activities, especially to administration-related pages
- Multiple failed privilege escalation attempts
- Unexpected programming rights assignments
Network Indicators:
- Unusual API calls to page editing endpoints
- Suspicious requests to administration interfaces
SIEM Query:
source="xwiki" AND (event="page_edit" AND target_page="*Configurable*") OR (event="privilege_change" AND new_right="programming")🔗 References
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/0f367aaae4e0696f61cf5a67a75edd27d1d16db6
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/1157c1ecea395aac7f64cd8a6f484b1225416dc7
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/749f6aee1bfbcf191c3734ea0aa9eba3aa63240e
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/bd82be936c21b65dee367d558e3050b9b6995713
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-qj86-p74r-7wp5
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-21121
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-21122
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-21194
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/0f367aaae4e0696f61cf5a67a75edd27d1d16db6
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/1157c1ecea395aac7f64cd8a6f484b1225416dc7
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/749f6aee1bfbcf191c3734ea0aa9eba3aa63240e
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/bd82be936c21b65dee367d558e3050b9b6995713
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-qj86-p74r-7wp5
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-21121
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-21122
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-21194
