Summary
XWiki Platform privilege escalation (PR) from account through AWM content fields
Workarounds
If you want to fix this problem on older versions of XWiki that have not been patched then you need to modify the content of AppWithinMinutes.Content page to use the display script service to render the content, like this:
- {{html}}$tdoc.getRenderedContent($tdoc.content, $tdoc.syntax.toIdString()).replace('{{', '{{'){{/html}}
+ {{html}}$services.display.content($tdoc, {
+ 'displayerHint': 'default'
+ }).replace('{{/html}}', '{{/html}}'){{/html}}
References
- JIRA issue https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-19906
- Fix https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/dfb1cde173e363ca5c12eb3654869f9719820262
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
Attribution
This vulnerability has been found and reported by @michitux .
Impact
Any registered user can use the content field of their user profile page to execute arbitrary scripts with programming rights, thus effectively performing rights escalation.
The problem is present since version 4.3M2 when AppWithinMinutes Application added support for the Content field, allowing any wiki page (including the user profile page) to use its content as an AWM Content field, which has a custom displayer that executes the content with the rights of the AppWithinMinutes.Content author, rather than the rights of the content author.
CVE-2023-40177 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 (14.10.5); 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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The issue has been fixed in XWiki 14.10.5 and 15.1RC1 by https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/dfb1cde173e363ca5c12eb3654869f9719820262 . The fix is in the content of the AppWithinMinutes.Content page that defines the custom displayer. By using the display script service to render the content we make sure that the proper author is used for access rights checks.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-40177? CVE-2023-40177 is a critical-severity security vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-appwithinminutes-ui (maven), affecting versions >= 4.3-milestone-2, < 14.10.5. It is fixed in 14.10.5.
- How severe is CVE-2023-40177? CVE-2023-40177 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-appwithinminutes-ui are affected by CVE-2023-40177? org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-appwithinminutes-ui (maven) versions >= 4.3-milestone-2, < 14.10.5 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-40177? Yes. CVE-2023-40177 is fixed in 14.10.5. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-40177 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-40177 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-2023-40177 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-2023-40177? Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-appwithinminutes-uito 14.10.5 or later.