Summary
XWiki Platform CSRF remote code execution through the realtime HTML Converter API
Workarounds
Update RTFrontend.ConvertHTML following this patch.
This will, however, break some synchronization processes in the realtime editor, so upgrading should be the preferred way on installations where this editor is used.
References
Impact
When the realtime editor is installed in XWiki, it allows arbitrary remote code execution with the interaction of an admin user with programming right. More precisely, by getting an admin user to either visit a crafted URL or to view an image with this URL that could be in a comment, the attacker can get the admin to execute arbitrary XWiki syntax including scripting macros with Groovy or Python code. This compromises the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki installation.
To reproduce on an XWiki installation, as an admin, click on <xwiki-host>/xwiki/bin/get/RTFrontend/ConvertHTML?wiki=xwiki&space=Main&page=WebHome&text=%7B%7Bvelocity%7D%7D%24logtool.error%28%22Hello%20from%20Velocity%20%21%22%29%7B%7B%2Fvelocity%7D%7D. If the error "Hello from Velocity!" gets logged then the 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-2024-31988 has a CVSS score of 9.6 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, no 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 (14.10.19, 15.5.4, 15.9); 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 14.10.19, 15.5.4 and 15.9.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2024-31988? CVE-2024-31988 is a critical-severity cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-realtime-ui (maven), affecting versions >= 13.9-rc-1, < 14.10.19. It is fixed in 14.10.19, 15.5.4, 15.9. 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-2024-31988? CVE-2024-31988 has a CVSS score of 9.6 (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-realtime-ui are affected by CVE-2024-31988? org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-realtime-ui (maven) versions >= 13.9-rc-1, < 14.10.19 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2024-31988? Yes. CVE-2024-31988 is fixed in 14.10.19, 15.5.4, 15.9. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2024-31988 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-31988 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-2024-31988 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-2024-31988?
- Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-realtime-uito 14.10.19 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-realtime-uito 15.5.4 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-realtime-uito 15.9 or later
- Upgrade