Summary
XWiki Platform vulnerable to Code Injection in icon themes
Workarounds
There are no workarounds apart from upgrading to a version containing the fix.
References
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20524
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/b0cdfd893912baaa053d106a92e39fa1858843c7
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/46b542854978e9caa687a5c2b8817b8b17877d94
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/79418dd92ca11941b46987ef881bf50424898ff4
Impact
By either creating a new or editing an existing document with an icon set, an attacker can inject XWiki syntax and Velocity code that is executed with programming rights and thus allows remote code execution. There are different attack vectors, the simplest is the Velocity code in the icon set's HTML or XWiki syntax definition. The icon picker can be used to trigger the rendering of any icon set. The XWiki syntax variant of the icon set is also used without any escaping in some documents, allowing to inject XWiki syntax including script macros into a document that might have programming right, for this the currently used icon theme needs to be edited. Further, the HTML output of the icon set is output as JSON in the icon picker and this JSON is interpreted as XWiki syntax, allowing again the injection of script macros into a document with programming right and thus allowing remote code execution. This impacts the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki instance.
CVE-2023-36470 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 15.1. Icon themes now require script right and the code in the icon theme is executed within the context of the icon theme, preventing any rights escalation. A macro for displaying icons has been introduced to avoid injecting the raw wiki syntax of an icon set into another document.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-36470? CVE-2023-36470 is a critical-severity security vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-default (maven), affecting versions >= 6.2-milestone-1, < 14.10.6. It is fixed in 14.10.6, 15.2-rc-1.
- How severe is CVE-2023-36470? CVE-2023-36470 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 packages are affected by CVE-2023-36470?
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-default(maven) (versions >= 6.2-milestone-1, < 14.10.6)org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-script(maven) (versions >= 6.2-milestone-1, < 14.10.6)org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-ui(maven) (versions >= 6.2-milestone-1, < 14.10.6)
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-36470? Yes. CVE-2023-36470 is fixed in 14.10.6, 15.2-rc-1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-36470 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-36470 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-2023-36470 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-2023-36470?
- Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-defaultto 14.10.6 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-scriptto 14.10.6 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-scriptto 15.2-rc-1 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-defaultto 15.2-rc-1 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-uito 14.10.6 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-uito 15.2-rc-1 or later
- Upgrade