CVE-2023-26055

XWiki Platform may allow privilege escalation to programming rights via user's first name

Workarounds

There are no other workarounds than upgrading XWiki or patching the xwiki-commons-xml JAR file.

References

• https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-19793
• https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-19794
• https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XCOMMONS-2498

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

Any user can edit his own profile and inject code which is going to be executed with programming right.

Steps to reproduce:

• Set your first name to

    {{cache id="userProfile"}}{{groovy}}println("Hello from groovy!"){{/groovy}}{{/cache}}

The first name appears as interpreted "Hello from groovy" instead of the expected fully escaped "{{cache id="userProfile"}}{{groovy}}println("Hello from groovy!"){{/groovy}}{{/cache}}".

The same vulnerability can also be exploited in all other places where short text properties are displayed, e.g., in apps created using Apps Within Minutes that use a short text field.

CVE-2023-26055 has a CVSS score of 9.9 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, low 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 (13.10.9, 14.4.4, 14.7-rc-1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Already deployed Kodem?

The problem has been patched on versions 13.10.9, 14.4.4, 14.7RC1.

1. What is CVE-2023-26055? CVE-2023-26055 is a critical-severity security vulnerability in org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml (maven), affecting versions >= 3.1-milestone-1, < 13.10.9. It is fixed in 13.10.9, 14.4.4, 14.7-rc-1.
2. How severe is CVE-2023-26055? CVE-2023-26055 has a CVSS score of 9.9 (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.
3. Which versions of org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml are affected by CVE-2023-26055? org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml (maven) versions >= 3.1-milestone-1, < 13.10.9 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2023-26055? Yes. CVE-2023-26055 is fixed in 13.10.9, 14.4.4, 14.7-rc-1. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2023-26055 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-26055 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
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2023-26055 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.
7. How do I fix CVE-2023-26055?
   • Upgrade org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml to 13.10.9 or later
   • Upgrade org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml to 14.4.4 or later
   • Upgrade org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml to 14.7-rc-1 or later

Other vulnerabilities in org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml