CVE-2023-37909

Privilege escalation (PR)/remote code execution from account through Menu.UIExtensionSheet

Workarounds

The patch can be manually applied to the document Menu.UIExtensionSheet, only three lines need to be changed.

References

• https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20746
• https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/9e8f080094333dec63a8583229a3799208d773be

Any user who can edit their own user profile 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:

1. As an advanced user, use the object editor to add an object of type UIExtensionClass to your user profile. Set the value "Extension Point ID" to {{/html}}{{async async=false cache=false}}{{groovy}}println("Hello from Groovy!"){{/groovy}}{{/async}}
2. Open <xwiki-host>/xwiki/bin/edit/XWiki/<username>?sheet=Menu.UIExtensionSheet where <xwiki-host> is the URL of your XWiki installation and <username> is your user name.

If the text Hello from Groovy!" selected="selected"> is displayed in the output, the attack succeeded.

Untrusted input is evaluated as executable code within the application's runtime environment. Typical impact: arbitrary code execution within the application's privilege context.

CVE-2023-37909 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (High). 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 (14.10.8, 15.3-rc-1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Already deployed Kodem?

This has been patched in XWiki 14.10.8 and 15.3 RC1 by adding proper escaping.

1. What is CVE-2023-37909? CVE-2023-37909 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-menu (maven), affecting versions >= 5.1-rc-1, < 14.10.8. It is fixed in 14.10.8, 15.3-rc-1. Untrusted input is evaluated as executable code within the application's runtime environment.
2. How severe is CVE-2023-37909? CVE-2023-37909 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (High). 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.
3. Which packages are affected by CVE-2023-37909?
   • org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-menu (maven) (versions >= 5.1-rc-1, < 14.10.8)
   • org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-menu-ui (maven) (versions >= 5.1-rc-1, < 14.10.8)
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2023-37909? Yes. CVE-2023-37909 is fixed in 14.10.8, 15.3-rc-1. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2023-37909 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-37909 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
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2023-37909 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.
7. How do I fix CVE-2023-37909?
   • Upgrade org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-menu to 14.10.8 or later
   • Upgrade org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-menu-ui to 14.10.8 or later
   • Upgrade org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-menu-ui to 15.3-rc-1 or later