Summary
XWiki Platform vulnerable to remote code execution through the section parameter in Administration as guest
Workarounds
The fix, which consists of replacing = $services.localization.render("administration.sectionTitle$level", [$sectionName]) = by = $services.localization.render("administration.sectionTitle$level", 'xwiki/2.1', [$sectionName]) =, can be applied manually to the document XWiki.AdminSheet.
References
Impact
XWiki doesn't properly escape the section URL parameter that is used in the code for displaying administration sections. This allows any user with read access to the document XWiki.AdminSheet (by default, everyone including unauthenticated users) to execute code including Groovy code. This impacts the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki instance.
By opening the URL <server>/xwiki/bin/get/Main/WebHome?sheet=XWiki.AdminSheet&viewer=content§ion=%5D%5D%7B%7B%2Fhtml%7D%7D%7B%7Basync%7D%7D%7B%7Bgroovy%7D%7Dservices.logging.getLogger(%22attacker%22).error(%22Attack%20succeeded!%22)%7B%7B%2Fgroovy%7D%7D%7B%7B%2Fasync%7D%7D&xpage=view where <server> is the URL of the XWiki installation, it can be tested if an XWiki installation is vulnerable. If this causes a log message ERROR attacker - Attack succeeded! to appear in XWiki's log, the installation is vulnerable. In very old versions of XWiki, the attack can be demonstrated with <server>/xwiki/bin/get/XWiki/XWikiPreferences?section=%3C%25println(%22Hello%20from%20Groovy%22)%25%3E&xpage=view which displays admin.hello from groovy as title when the attack succeeds (tested on XWiki 1.7).
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-2023-46731 has a CVSS score of 10.0 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, no 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 (14.10.14, 15.5.1); 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 vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 14.10.14, 15.6 RC1 and 15.5.1.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-46731? CVE-2023-46731 is a critical-severity code injection vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui (maven), affecting versions < 14.10.14. It is fixed in 14.10.14, 15.5.1. Untrusted input is evaluated as executable code within the application's runtime environment.
- How severe is CVE-2023-46731? CVE-2023-46731 has a CVSS score of 10.0 (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-2023-46731?
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui(maven) (versions < 14.10.14)org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration(maven) (versions < 14.10.14)
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-46731? Yes. CVE-2023-46731 is fixed in 14.10.14, 15.5.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-46731 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-46731 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-2023-46731 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-2023-46731?
- Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-uito 14.10.14 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-uito 15.5.1 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administrationto 14.10.14 or later
- Upgrade