CVE-2024-55877
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows any authenticated user in XWiki Platform to execute arbitrary code remotely by adding malicious WikiMacroClass instances to pages. This compromises the entire XWiki installation's confidentiality, integrity, and availability. All XWiki installations with versions from 9.7-rc-1 up to (but not including) 15.10.11, 16.4.1, and 16.5.0 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- XWiki Platform
📦 What is this software?
Xwiki by Xwiki
Xwiki by Xwiki
Xwiki by Xwiki
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with attacker gaining full control over the XWiki server, potentially leading to data theft, data destruction, and further network penetration.
Likely Case
Authenticated attackers execute arbitrary code to steal sensitive data, modify content, or disrupt service availability.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper network segmentation and least privilege access controls are implemented, though RCE still poses significant risk.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but is straightforward once authenticated. The advisory provides technical details that could facilitate weaponization.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 15.10.11, 16.4.1, 16.5.0
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-2r87-74cx-2p7c
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Upgrade to XWiki 15.10.11, 16.4.1, or 16.5.0. 2. Restart the XWiki service. 3. Verify the patch is applied by checking the XWiki.XWikiSyntaxMacrosList page.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Manual patch application
allApply the security patch manually to the XWiki.XWikiSyntaxMacrosList page as described in the advisory.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict user account creation and limit existing user privileges to minimum necessary
- Implement network segmentation to isolate XWiki from critical systems and monitor for suspicious activity
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check XWiki version via admin interface or by examining installation files. Versions between 9.7-rc-1 and 15.10.10, or between 16.0.0 and 16.4.0 are vulnerable.Check Version:
Check XWiki version in Administration → About section or examine xwiki-version.txt in installation directory.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 15.10.11, 16.4.1, or 16.5.0. Check that the XWiki.XWikiSyntaxMacrosList page contains the security patch.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual modifications to XWiki.XWikiSyntaxMacrosList page
- Suspicious macro creation or execution patterns
- Unexpected process execution from XWiki context
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound connections from XWiki server
- Suspicious payloads in HTTP requests to XWiki
SIEM Query:
source="xwiki.log" AND ("XWikiSyntaxMacrosList" OR "WikiMacroClass") AND (modif* OR creat* OR exec*)