Summary
XWiki Platform Live Data Live Table Connector has privilege escalation from edit to script right through Live Data editing
Workarounds
We're not aware of any workarounds apart from upgrading.
Impact
Any user who can edit a page in XWiki can use Live Data's edit REST API in XWiki to change the rights on that page. This allows the user to obtain script right on the page. Script right allows the user to execute potentially dangerous Velocity scripts and send unfiltered HTML and JavaScript to the client. If there are other security checks, e.g., in extensions, implemented as listeners to UserUpdatingDocumentEvent and similar User… events, these checks can be circumvented, too.
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.
Already deployed Kodem?
See it in your environmentNew to Kodem? Get a demo →Remediation advice
This vulnerability has been patched by properly calling all checks in Live Data in XWiki 16.10.17, 17.4.10, 17.10.4 and 18.1.0.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-53966? CVE-2026-53966 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-livedata-livetable (maven), affecting versions >= 13.4-rc-1, < 16.10.17. It is fixed in 16.10.17, 17.4.10, 17.10.4, 18.1.0-rc-1. The application does not perform an authorization check before performing a sensitive operation.
- Which versions of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-livedata-livetable are affected by CVE-2026-53966? org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-livedata-livetable (maven) versions >= 13.4-rc-1, < 16.10.17 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-53966? Yes. CVE-2026-53966 is fixed in 16.10.17, 17.4.10, 17.10.4, 18.1.0-rc-1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-53966 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-53966 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-2026-53966 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-2026-53966?
- Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-livedata-livetableto 16.10.17 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-livedata-livetableto 17.4.10 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-livedata-livetableto 17.10.4 or later - Upgrade
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-livedata-livetableto 18.1.0-rc-1 or later
- Upgrade