Summary
XWiki CKEditor.HTMLConverter vulnerable to Remote Code Execution via Cross-Site Request Forgery
Workarounds
There are no known workarounds for this other than upgrading the CKEditor integration to a fixed version.
References
- https://github.com/xwiki-contrib/application-ckeditor/commit/6b1053164386aefc526df7512bc664918aa6849b
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/CKEDITOR-475
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in Jira XWiki.org
- Email us at Security Mailing List
Impact
The CKEditor.HTMLConverter document lacked a protection against Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), allowing to execute macros with the rights of the current user. If a privileged user with programming rights was tricked into executing a GET request to this document with certain parameters (e.g., via an image with a corresponding URL embedded in a comment or via a redirect), this would allow arbitrary remote code execution and the attacker could gain rights, access private information or impact the availability of the wiki.
The attack can be demonstrated by accessing the URL <server>/xwiki/bin/view/Main?sheet=CKEditor.HTMLConverter&language=en&sourceSyntax=xwiki%2F2.1&stripHTMLEnvelope=true&fromHTML=false&toHTML=true&text=%7B%7Bgroovy%7D%7Dprintln%28%22Hello+from+Groovy%21%22%29%7B%7B%2Fgroovy%7D%7D where <server> is the URL of the XWiki installation as a user with programming rights. If this displays the text "Hello from Groovy!", the installation is vulnerable.
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-2023-22457 has a CVSS score of 9.0 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and user interaction required. 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 (1.64.3); 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.
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The issue has been patched in the CKEditor Integration version 1.64.3. This has also been patched in the version of the CKEditor integration that is bundled starting with XWiki 14.6 RC1.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-22457? CVE-2023-22457 is a critical-severity cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in org.xwiki.contrib:application-ckeditor-ui (maven), affecting versions < 1.64.3. It is fixed in 1.64.3. 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-2023-22457? CVE-2023-22457 has a CVSS score of 9.0 (Critical). 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.contrib:application-ckeditor-ui are affected by CVE-2023-22457? org.xwiki.contrib:application-ckeditor-ui (maven) versions < 1.64.3 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-22457? Yes. CVE-2023-22457 is fixed in 1.64.3. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-22457 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-22457 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-2023-22457 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-2023-22457? Upgrade
org.xwiki.contrib:application-ckeditor-uito 1.64.3 or later.