Summary
Cross-Site Request Forgery in xwiki-platform
Workarounds
It's possible to fix the problem without uprading by editing the ForgotUsername page in version below 13.x, to use the following code: https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/blob/69548c0320cbd772540cf4668743e69f879812cf/xwiki-platform-core/xwiki-platform-administration/xwiki-platform-administration-ui/src/main/resources/XWiki/ForgotUsername.xml#L39-L123
In version after 13.x it's also possible to edit manually the forgotusername.vm file, but it's really encouraged to upgrade the version here.
References
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in Jira XWiki
- Email us at security ML
Impact
It's possible to know if a user has or not an account in a wiki related to an email address, and which username(s) is actually tight to that email by forging a request to the Forgot username page. Note that since this page does not have a CSRF check it's quite easy to perform a lot of those requests.
A victim's authenticated browser session is used to submit forged requests to an application that cannot distinguish them from legitimate ones. Typical impact: state-changing actions performed as the victim without their consent.
CVE-2021-32732 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (12.10.5, 13.2RC1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
Already deployed Kodem?
See it in your environmentNew to Kodem? Get a demo →Remediation advice
This issue has been patched in XWiki 12.10.5 and 13.2RC1. Two different patches are provided:
- a first one to fix the CSRF problem
- a more complex one that now relies on sending an email for the Forgot username process.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2021-32732? CVE-2021-32732 is a high-severity cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui (maven), affecting versions < 12.10.5. It is fixed in 12.10.5, 13.2RC1. A victim's authenticated browser session is used to submit forged requests to an application that cannot distinguish them from legitimate ones.
- How severe is CVE-2021-32732? CVE-2021-32732 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui are affected by CVE-2021-32732? org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui (maven) versions < 12.10.5 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2021-32732? Yes. CVE-2021-32732 is fixed in 12.10.5, 13.2RC1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2021-32732 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2021-32732 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2021-32732 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2021-32732?
- Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-uito 12.10.5 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-uito 13.2RC1 or later
- Upgrade