Summary
XWiki Platform allows remote code execution from user account
Workarounds
We're not aware of any workaround except upgrading.
References
Impact
When an admin disables a user account, the user's profile is executed with the admin's rights. This allows a user to place malicious code in the user profile before getting an admin to disable the user account.
To reproduce, as a user without script nor programming rights, edit the about section of your user profile and add {{groovy}}services.logging.getLogger("attacker").error("Hello from Groovy!"){{/groovy}}.
As an admin, go to the user profile and click the "Disable this account" button.
Then, reload the page. If the logs show attacker - Hello from Groovy! then the instance is vulnerable.
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-2024-37899 has a CVSS score of 9.0 (Critical). 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 (14.10.21, 15.5.5, 15.10.6, 16.0.0); 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, 15.10.6 and 16.0.0.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2024-37899? CVE-2024-37899 is a critical-severity code injection vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore (maven), affecting versions >= 13.4.7, < 13.5. It is fixed in 14.10.21, 15.5.5, 15.10.6, 16.0.0. Untrusted input is evaluated as executable code within the application's runtime environment.
- How severe is CVE-2024-37899? CVE-2024-37899 has a CVSS score of 9.0 (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 versions of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore are affected by CVE-2024-37899? org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore (maven) versions >= 13.4.7, < 13.5 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2024-37899? Yes. CVE-2024-37899 is fixed in 14.10.21, 15.5.5, 15.10.6, 16.0.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2024-37899 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-37899 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-2024-37899 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-2024-37899?
- 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
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcoreto 16.0.0 or later
- Upgrade