Summary
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore may leak data through deleted and re-created documents
Workarounds
The only workaround is to regularly clean deleted documents to minimize the potential exposure. Extra care should be taken when deleting sensitive documents that are protected individually (and not, e.g., by being placed in a protected space) or deleting a protected space as a whole.
References
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20685 (root cause)
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20817 (exploitation via the diff feature)
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20684 (exploitation via the REST API)
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/f471f2a392aeeb9e51d59fdfe1d76fccf532523f
Impact
When a document has been deleted and re-created, it is possible for users with view right on the re-created document but not on the deleted document to view the contents of the deleted document. Such a situation might arise when rights were added to the deleted document. This can be exploited through the diff feature and, partially, through the REST API by using versions such as deleted:1 (where the number counts the deletions in the wiki and is thus guessable). Given sufficient rights, the attacker can also re-create the deleted document, thus extending the scope to any deleted document as long as the attacker has edit right in the location of the deleted document.
CVE-2023-37911 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium). 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.
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.
Already deployed Kodem?
See it in your environmentNew to Kodem? Get a demo →Remediation advice
This vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 14.10.8 and 15.3 RC1 by properly checking rights when deleted revisions of a document are accessed.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-37911? CVE-2023-37911 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore (maven), affecting versions >= 9.4-rc-1, < 14.10.8. It is fixed in 14.10.8, 15.3-rc-1.
- How severe is CVE-2023-37911? CVE-2023-37911 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium). 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-oldcore are affected by CVE-2023-37911? org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore (maven) versions >= 9.4-rc-1, < 14.10.8 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-37911? Yes. CVE-2023-37911 is fixed in 14.10.8, 15.3-rc-1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-37911 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-37911 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-2023-37911 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-2023-37911?
- Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcoreto 14.10.8 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcoreto 15.3-rc-1 or later
- Upgrade