Summary
Cross-site Scripting in org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml
Workarounds
There are no known workarounds apart from upgrading to a version including the fix.
References
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XCOMMONS-2568
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20348
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-commons/commit/8ff1a9d7e5d7b45b690134a537d53dc05cae04ab
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in Jira XWiki
- Email us at XWiki Security mailing-list
Attribution
This vulnerability was reported on Intigriti by ynoof @Ynoof5.
Impact
The "restricted" mode of the HTML cleaner in XWiki, introduced in version 4.2-milestone-1 and massively improved in version 14.6-rc-1, allowed the injection of arbitrary HTML code and thus cross-site scripting via invalid HTML comments. 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}}
<!--> <Details Open OnToggle=confirm("XSS")>
{{/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.
Note that while all versions since 4.2-milestone-1 should be vulnerable, only starting with version 14.6-rc-1 the HTML comment is necessary for the attack to succeed due to another vulnerability that has been patched in version 14.6-rc-1.
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-2023-29528 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 (14.10); 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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This problem has been patched in XWiki 14.10, HTML comments are now removed in restricted mode and a check has been introduced that ensures that comments don't start with >.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-29528? CVE-2023-29528 is a critical-severity cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml (maven), affecting versions >= 4.2-milestone-1, < 14.10. It is fixed in 14.10. Untrusted input is rendered as active markup in a victim's browser, which can run script in their session.
- How severe is CVE-2023-29528? CVE-2023-29528 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.commons:xwiki-commons-xml are affected by CVE-2023-29528? org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml (maven) versions >= 4.2-milestone-1, < 14.10 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-29528? Yes. CVE-2023-29528 is fixed in 14.10. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-29528 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-29528 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-2023-29528 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-2023-29528? Upgrade
org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xmlto 14.10 or later.