Summary
XWiki Platform vulnerable to Code injection through NotificationRSSService
Workarounds
The main security fix can be manually applied by patching the affected document XWiki.Notifications.Code.NotificationRSSService as shown in the patch. This will break the link to the differences, though as this requires additional changes to Velocity templates as shown in the patch. While the default template is available in the instance and can be easily patched, the template for mentions is contained in a .jar-file and thus cannot be fixed without replacing that jar.
References
Impact
Any user who can edit their own user profile and notification settings can execute arbitrary script macros including Groovy and Python macros that allow remote code execution including unrestricted read and write access to all wiki contents. This can be reproduced with the following steps:
- Login as a user without script or programming right.
- Go to the notifications preferences in your user profile.
- Disable the "Own Events Filter" and enable notifications in the notification menu for "Like".
- Set your first name to
{{cache id="security" timeToLive="1"}}{{groovy}}println("Hello from groovy!"){{/groovy}}{{/cache}} - Click on the like button at the bottom left of the user profile.
- Click on the notifications bell in the top bar and then on "RSS Feed".
If the text "Profile of Hello from groovy!" and/or "liked by Hello from groovy!" is displayed, the attack succeeded. The expected result would have been that the entered first name is displayed as-is in the description of the feed.
CVE-2023-36469 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 (14.10.6, 15.2-rc-1); 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 has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and 15.2RC1.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-36469? CVE-2023-36469 is a critical-severity security vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-ui (maven), affecting versions >= 9.6-rc-1, < 14.10.6. It is fixed in 14.10.6, 15.2-rc-1.
- How severe is CVE-2023-36469? CVE-2023-36469 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-notifications-ui are affected by CVE-2023-36469? org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-ui (maven) versions >= 9.6-rc-1, < 14.10.6 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-36469? Yes. CVE-2023-36469 is fixed in 14.10.6, 15.2-rc-1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-36469 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-36469 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-2023-36469 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-2023-36469?
- Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-uito 14.10.6 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-uito 15.2-rc-1 or later
- Upgrade