Summary
Any user with view access to the XWiki space can change the authenticator
Workarounds
You can very easily fix this vulnerability in your instance through right configuration:
- access the page and children right administration of the page
XWiki.Authentication(https://myhost/xwiki/bin/admin/XWiki/Authentication/WebPreferences?editor=spaceadmin§ion=PageAndChildrenRights&space=XWiki.Authentication#|t=usersandgroupstable&p=1&l=10&uorg=groups&wiki=local&clsname=XWiki.XWikiGlobalRights) - make sure only admin user have the VIEW right
References
https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-22604
https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/5efc31cea1501c9a5cb593566fea8b558ff32a2a
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in Jira XWiki.org
- Email us at Security Mailing List
Impact
A user who can access pages located in the XWiki space (by default, anyone) can access the page XWiki.Authentication.Administration and (unless an authenticator is set in xwiki.cfg) switch to another installed authenticator.
Note that, by default, there is only one authenticator available (Standard XWiki Authenticator). So, if no authenticator extension was installed, it's not really possible to do anything for an attacker.
Also, in most cases, if you have installed and are using an SSO authenticator (like OIDC or LDAP for example), the worst an attacker can do is break authentication by switching back to the standard authenticator (that's because it's impossible to login to a user which does not have a stored password, and that's usually what SSO authenticator produce).
The application does not perform an authorization check before performing a sensitive operation. Typical impact: unauthorized access to restricted functionality or data.
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 15.10.9 and XWiki 16.3.0RC1.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2025-46557? CVE-2025-46557 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-security-authentication-ui (maven), affecting versions >= 15.3-rc-1, < 15.10.14. It is fixed in 15.10.14, 16.4.6, 16.10.0-rc-1. The application does not perform an authorization check before performing a sensitive operation.
- Which versions of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-security-authentication-ui are affected by CVE-2025-46557? org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-security-authentication-ui (maven) versions >= 15.3-rc-1, < 15.10.14 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2025-46557? Yes. CVE-2025-46557 is fixed in 15.10.14, 16.4.6, 16.10.0-rc-1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2025-46557 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-46557 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-2025-46557 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-2025-46557?
- Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-security-authentication-uito 15.10.14 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-security-authentication-uito 16.4.6 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-security-authentication-uito 16.10.0-rc-1 or later
- Upgrade