CVE-2023-29201

org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml Cross-site Scripting vulnerability

The "restricted" mode of the HTML cleaner in XWiki, introduced in version 4.2-milestone-1, only escaped <script> and <style>-tags but neither attributes that can be used to inject scripts nor other dangerous HTML tags like <iframe>. As a consequence, any code relying on this "restricted" mode for security is vulnerable to JavaScript injection ("cross-site scripting"/XSS). An example are anonymous comments in XWiki where the HTML macro filters HTML using restricted mode:

{{html}}
<a href='' onclick='alert(1)'>XSS</a>
{{/html}}

When a privileged user with programming rights visits such a comment in XWiki, the malicious JavaScript code is executed in the context of the user session. This allows server-side code execution with programming rights, impacting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the XWiki instance.

Untrusted input is rendered as active markup in a victim's browser, which can run script in their session. Typical impact: session or credential theft, and actions taken as the user.

CVE-2023-29201 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 (14.6-rc-1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

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This problem has been patched in XWiki 14.6 RC1 with the introduction of a filter with allowed HTML elements and attributes that is enabled in restricted mode.

1. What is CVE-2023-29201? CVE-2023-29201 is a critical-severity cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml (maven), affecting versions >= 4.2-milestone-1, < 14.6-rc-1. It is fixed in 14.6-rc-1. Untrusted input is rendered as active markup in a victim's browser, which can run script in their session.
2. How severe is CVE-2023-29201? CVE-2023-29201 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.
3. Which versions of org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml are affected by CVE-2023-29201? org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml (maven) versions >= 4.2-milestone-1, < 14.6-rc-1 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2023-29201? Yes. CVE-2023-29201 is fixed in 14.6-rc-1. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2023-29201 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-29201 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-2023-29201 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-2023-29201? Upgrade org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml to 14.6-rc-1 or later.

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