CVE-2023-29521

XWiki Platform vulnerable to code injection from account/view through VFS Tree macro

Workarounds

The issue can be fixed by applying this patch on Macro.VFSTreeMacro.

References

• https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20260
• https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/fad02328f5ec7ab7fe5b932ffb5bc5c1ba7a5b12

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 with view rights can execute arbitrary Groovy, Python or Velocity code in XWiki leading to full access to the XWiki installation. The root cause is improper escaping of Macro.VFSTreeMacro. This page is not installed by default.

See https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20260 for the reproduction steps.

CVE-2023-29521 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (High). 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 (13.10.11, 14.4.8, 14.10.2); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Already deployed Kodem?

The vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 15.0-rc-1, 14.10.2, 14.4.8, 13.10.11.

1. What is CVE-2023-29521? CVE-2023-29521 is a high-severity security vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-vfs-ui (maven), affecting versions >= 7.4-milestone-2, < 13.10.11. It is fixed in 13.10.11, 14.4.8, 14.10.2.
2. How severe is CVE-2023-29521? CVE-2023-29521 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (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.
3. Which versions of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-vfs-ui are affected by CVE-2023-29521? org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-vfs-ui (maven) versions >= 7.4-milestone-2, < 13.10.11 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2023-29521? Yes. CVE-2023-29521 is fixed in 13.10.11, 14.4.8, 14.10.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2023-29521 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-29521 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-2023-29521 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-2023-29521?
   • Upgrade org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-vfs-ui to 13.10.11 or later
   • Upgrade org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-vfs-ui to 14.4.8 or later
   • Upgrade org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-vfs-ui to 14.10.2 or later