What is CVE-2023-34465?

CVE-2023-34465 is a critical-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default (maven), affecting versions >= 11.8-rc-1, < 14.4.8. It is fixed in 14.4.8, 14.10.6, 15.1. The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access.

How severe is CVE-2023-34465?

CVE-2023-34465 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.

Which versions of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default are affected by CVE-2023-34465?

org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default (maven) versions >= 11.8-rc-1, < 14.4.8 is affected.

Is there a fix for CVE-2023-34465?

Yes. CVE-2023-34465 is fixed in 14.4.8, 14.10.6, 15.1. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2023-34465 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2023-34465 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.

What actually determines whether CVE-2023-34465 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-2023-34465?

Upgrade: org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default to 14.4.8 or later, org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default to 14.10.6 or later, org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default to 15.1 or later.

CVE-2023-34465

Q: How severe is CVE-2023-34465?

CVE-2023-34465 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.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2023-34465?

Yes. CVE-2023-34465 is fixed in 14.4.8, 14.10.6, 15.1. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is CVE-2023-34465 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2023-34465 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.

Q: What actually determines whether CVE-2023-34465 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.

Q: How do I fix CVE-2023-34465?

Upgrade: org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default to 14.4.8 or later, org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default to 14.10.6 or later, org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default to 15.1 or later.

Summary

XWiki Platform's Mail.MailConfig can be edited by any user with edit rights

Workarounds

The rights of the Mail.MailConfig page can be manually updated so that only a set of trusted users can view, edit and delete it (e.g., the XWiki.XWikiAdminGroup group).
On 14.4.8+, 15.1-rc-1+, or 14.10.5+, if at startup Mail.MailConfig does not have any rights defined, view, edit and delete rights are automatically granted to the XWiki.XWikiAdminGroup group.
See the corresponding patch.

References

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

Mail.MailConfig can be edited by any logged-in user by default. Consequently, they can:

change the mail obfuscation configuration
view and edit the mail sending configuration, including the smtp domain name and credentials.

The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access. Typical impact: privilege escalation beyond the intended level.

CVE-2023-34465 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 (14.4.8, 14.10.6, 15.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default (>= 11.8-rc-1, < 14.4.8) org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default (>= 14.5, < 14.10.6) org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default (>= 15.0-rc-1, < 15.1)

Security releases

org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default → 14.4.8 (maven) org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default → 14.10.6 (maven) org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default → 15.1 (maven)

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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Remediation advice

The problem has been patched on XWiki 14.4.8, 15.1, and 14.10.6.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-34465? CVE-2023-34465 is a critical-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default (maven), affecting versions >= 11.8-rc-1, < 14.4.8. It is fixed in 14.4.8, 14.10.6, 15.1. The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access.
How severe is CVE-2023-34465? CVE-2023-34465 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.
Which versions of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default are affected by CVE-2023-34465? org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default (maven) versions >= 11.8-rc-1, < 14.4.8 is affected.
Is there a fix for CVE-2023-34465? Yes. CVE-2023-34465 is fixed in 14.4.8, 14.10.6, 15.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is CVE-2023-34465 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-34465 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-2023-34465 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-2023-34465?
- Upgrade org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default to 14.4.8 or later
- Upgrade org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default to 14.10.6 or later
- Upgrade org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-mail-send-default to 15.1 or later