What is CVE-2023-36477?

CVE-2023-36477 is a critical-severity cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui (maven), affecting versions >= 14.6-rc-1, < 14.10.6. It is fixed in 14.10.6, 1.64.9, 15.1. Untrusted input is rendered as active markup in a victim's browser, which can run script in their session.

How severe is CVE-2023-36477?

CVE-2023-36477 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 packages are affected by CVE-2023-36477?

org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui (maven) versions >= 14.6-rc-1, = 1.9, < 1.64.9.

Is there a fix for CVE-2023-36477?

Yes. CVE-2023-36477 is fixed in 14.10.6, 1.64.9, 15.1. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2023-36477 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2023-36477 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-2023-36477 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-2023-36477?

Upgrade: org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui to 14.10.6 or later, org.xwiki.contrib:application-ckeditor-ui to 1.64.9 or later, org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui to 15.1 or later.

CVE-2023-36477

Q: How severe is CVE-2023-36477?

CVE-2023-36477 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.

Q: Which packages are affected by CVE-2023-36477?

org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui (maven) versions >= 14.6-rc-1, = 1.9, < 1.64.9.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2023-36477?

Yes. CVE-2023-36477 is fixed in 14.10.6, 1.64.9, 15.1. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is CVE-2023-36477 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2023-36477 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-2023-36477 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-2023-36477?

Upgrade: org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui to 14.10.6 or later, org.xwiki.contrib:application-ckeditor-ui to 1.64.9 or later, org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui to 15.1 or later.

Summary

XWiki Platform vulnerable to persistent Cross-site Scripting through CKEditor Configuration pages

Effect

Any user with edit rights can edit all pages in the `CKEditor' space. This makes it possible to perform a variety of harmful actions, such as

removing technical documents, leading to loss of service
Editing the javascript configuration of CKEditor, leading to persistent XSS

Workarounds

The issue can be fixed manually by restricting the edit and delete rights to a trusted user or group (e.g. the XWiki.XWikiAdminGroup group), implicitly disabling those rights for all other users.
See https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/9d9d86179457cb8dc48b4491510537878800be4f

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

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-2023-36477 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 (14.10.6, 1.64.9, 15.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui (>= 14.6-rc-1, < 14.10.6) org.xwiki.contrib:application-ckeditor-ui (>= 1.9, < 1.64.9) org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui (>= 15.0-rc-1, < 15.1)

Security releases

org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui → 14.10.6 (maven) org.xwiki.contrib:application-ckeditor-ui → 1.64.9 (maven) org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui → 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

This issue has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and XWiki 15.1.
This issue has been patched on the CKEditor Integration extension 1.64.9 for XWiki version older than 14.6RC1.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-36477? CVE-2023-36477 is a critical-severity cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui (maven), affecting versions >= 14.6-rc-1, < 14.10.6. It is fixed in 14.10.6, 1.64.9, 15.1. Untrusted input is rendered as active markup in a victim's browser, which can run script in their session.
How severe is CVE-2023-36477? CVE-2023-36477 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 packages are affected by CVE-2023-36477?
- org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui (maven) (versions >= 14.6-rc-1, < 14.10.6)
- org.xwiki.contrib:application-ckeditor-ui (maven) (versions >= 1.9, < 1.64.9)
Is there a fix for CVE-2023-36477? Yes. CVE-2023-36477 is fixed in 14.10.6, 1.64.9, 15.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is CVE-2023-36477 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-36477 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-2023-36477 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-2023-36477?
- Upgrade org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui to 14.10.6 or later
- Upgrade org.xwiki.contrib:application-ckeditor-ui to 1.64.9 or later
- Upgrade org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui to 15.1 or later