Summary
XWiki Platform vulnerable to CSRF privilege escalation/RCE via the create action
Workarounds
There are no known workarounds.
References
Impact
The create action is vulnerable to a CSRF attack, allowing script and thus remote code execution when targeting a user with script/programming right, thus compromising the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki installation. To reproduce, the XWiki syntax [[image:path:/xwiki/bin/create/Foo/WebHome?template=&parent=Main.WebHome&title=$services.logging.getLogger(%22foo%22).error(%22Script%20executed!%22)]] can be added to any place that supports XWiki syntax like a comment. When a user with script right views this image and a log message ERROR foo - Script executed! appears in the log, the XWiki installation is vulnerable.
A victim's authenticated browser session is used to submit forged requests to an application that cannot distinguish them from legitimate ones. Typical impact: state-changing actions performed as the victim without their consent.
CVE-2023-40572 has a CVSS score of 8.0 (High). 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 (14.10.9, 15.4-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 14.10.9 and 15.4RC1 by requiring a CSRF token for the actual page creation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-40572? CVE-2023-40572 is a high-severity cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore (maven), affecting versions >= 3.2-milestone-3, < 14.10.9. It is fixed in 14.10.9, 15.4-rc-1. A victim's authenticated browser session is used to submit forged requests to an application that cannot distinguish them from legitimate ones.
- How severe is CVE-2023-40572? CVE-2023-40572 has a CVSS score of 8.0 (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.
- Which versions of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore are affected by CVE-2023-40572? org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore (maven) versions >= 3.2-milestone-3, < 14.10.9 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-40572? Yes. CVE-2023-40572 is fixed in 14.10.9, 15.4-rc-1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-40572 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-40572 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-2023-40572 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-2023-40572?
- Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcoreto 14.10.9 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcoreto 15.4-rc-1 or later
- Upgrade