Summary
XWiki Platform vulnerable to document deletion and overwrite from edit
Workarounds
We're not aware of any workarounds.
References
Impact
When a user has edit but not view right on a page in XWiki, that user can delete the page and replace it by a page with new content without having delete right. The previous version of the page is moved into the recycle bin and can be restored from there by an admin. As the user is recorded as deleter, the user would in theory also be able to view the deleted content, but this is not directly possible as rights of the previous version are transferred to the new page and thus the user still doesn't have view right on the page. From all we examined, it therefore doesn't seem to be possible to exploit this to gain any rights.
To reproduce, just replace view by edit in the URL of a page that you cannot view but edit and save. This should send the page to the recycle bin and replace it by an empty one if the XWiki installation is vulnerable. After the fix, an error is displayed when saving.
The application does not perform an authorization check before performing a sensitive operation. Typical impact: unauthorized access to restricted functionality or data.
CVE-2024-37898 has a CVSS score of 4.3 (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 (14.10.21, 15.5.5, 15.10.6); 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 14.10.21, 15.5.5 and 15.10.6 by cancelling save operations by users when a new document shall be saved despite the document's existing already.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2024-37898? CVE-2024-37898 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore (maven), affecting versions >= 13.10.4, < 14.0-rc-1. It is fixed in 14.10.21, 15.5.5, 15.10.6. The application does not perform an authorization check before performing a sensitive operation.
- How severe is CVE-2024-37898? CVE-2024-37898 has a CVSS score of 4.3 (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-2024-37898? org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore (maven) versions >= 13.10.4, < 14.0-rc-1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2024-37898? Yes. CVE-2024-37898 is fixed in 14.10.21, 15.5.5, 15.10.6. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2024-37898 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-37898 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-2024-37898 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-2024-37898?
- Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcoreto 14.10.21 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcoreto 14.10.21 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcoreto 15.5.5 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcoreto 15.10.6 or later
- Upgrade