CVE-2023-36468: Xwiki platform oldcore Upgrading Doesn't Prevent Exploiting Vulnerable Vulnerability
CRITICALCVE-2023-36468 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.9) upgrading doesn't prevent exploiting vulnerable vulnerability (CWE-459: Incomplete Cleanup) affecting Xwiki platform oldcore libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves upgrading doesn't prevent exploiting vulnerable xwiki documents. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 14.10.7, 15.2-rc-1.
CVE-2023-36468 at a Glance
Security Impact
CVSS: 9.9
The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).
How to Fix CVE-2023-36468
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Xwiki platform oldcore dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.
<dependency>
<groupId>org.xwiki.platform</groupId>
<artifactId>xwiki-platform-oldcore</artifactId>
<version>14.10.7</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.xwiki.platform</groupId>
<artifactId>xwiki-platform-oldcore</artifactId>
<version>15.2-rc-1</version>
</dependency>
Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.xwiki.platform
How to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2023-36468, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:
mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.xwiki.platform
Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Xwiki platform oldcore in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 14.10.7), your application is affected.
Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.xwiki.platform command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.
Technical Details
Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis
This vulnerability is classified under CWE-459: Incomplete Cleanup, where the product does not properly "clean up" and remove temporary or supporting resources after they have been used. In Xwiki platform oldcore, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.
Source Advisory Statement
CVE-2023-36468 Affected Xwiki platform oldcore Versions
2 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore
|
Maven |
≥ 2.0
< 14.10.7
|
14.10.7
|
|
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore
|
Maven |
≥ 15.0-rc-1
< 15.2-rc-1
|
15.2-rc-1
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2023-36468?
Which Xwiki platform oldcore versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2023-36468?
Is xwiki-platform-oldcore affected?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-36468?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-36468?
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2023-36468?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-8q9q-r9v2-644m",
"modified" : "2023-06-30T20:42:07Z",
"published" : "2023-06-30T20:42:07Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-36468" ],
"summary" : "Upgrading doesn't prevent exploiting vulnerable XWiki documents",
"details" : "### Impact\n\nWhen an XWiki installation is upgraded and that upgrade contains a fix for a bug in a document, just a new version of that document is added. In some cases, it's still possible to exploit the vulnerability that was fixed in the new version. The severity of this depends on the fixed vulnerability, for the purpose of this advisory take [CVE-2022-36100](https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-2g5c-228j-p52x) as example - it is easily exploitable with just view rights and critical. When XWiki is upgraded from a version before the fix for it (e.g., 14.3) to a version including the fix (e.g., 14.4), the vulnerability can still be reproduced by adding `rev=1.1` to the URL used in the reproduction steps so remote code execution is possible even after upgrading. Therefore, this affects the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki installation. This vulnerability also affects manually added script macros that contained security vulnerabilities that were later fixed by changing the script macro without deleting the versions with the security vulnerability from the history.\n\nThis vulnerability doesn't affect freshly installed versions of XWiki. Further, this vulnerability doesn't affect content that is only loaded from the current version of a document like the code of wiki macros or UI extensions.\n\n### Patches\n\nThis vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 14.10.7 and 15.2RC1 by forcing old revisions to be executed in a restricted mode that disables all script macros.\n\n### Workarounds\n\nAs a workaround, admins can manually delete old revisions of affected documents. A script could be used to identify all installed documents and delete the history for them. However, also manually added and later corrected code may be affected by this vulnerability so it is easy to miss documents.\n\n### References\n\n* https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20594\n* https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/15a6f845d8206b0ae97f37aa092ca43d4f9d6e59",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V3",
"score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H"
} ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Maven",
"name" : "org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "2.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "14.10.7"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Maven",
"name" : "org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "15.0-rc-1"
}, {
"fixed" : "15.2-rc-1"
} ]
} ]
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-2g5c-228j-p52x"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-8q9q-r9v2-644m"
}, {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-36468"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/15a6f845d8206b0ae97f37aa092ca43d4f9d6e59"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20594"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-459" ],
"severity" : "CRITICAL",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2023-06-30T20:42:07Z",
"nvd_published_at" : "2023-06-29T21:15:09Z"
}
}