CVE-2020-13654: Xwiki platform web Improper Escaping Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-p93c-h8qm-7256
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-116
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-13654 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) improper escaping vulnerability (CWE-116: Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output) affecting Xwiki platform web libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves improper escaping in xwiki platform. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 12.8.

CVE-2020-13654 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-13654
GHSA Identifier GHSA-p93c-h8qm-7256
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-116: Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output
Affected Product Xwiki platform web
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2020-13654

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Xwiki platform web dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web fixed: 12.8 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.xwiki.platform</groupId>
    <artifactId>xwiki-platform-web</artifactId>
    <version>12.8</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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-2020-13654, 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 web in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 12.8), 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-116: Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output, where the product prepares a structured message for communication with another component, but encoding or escaping of the data is either missing or done incorrectly. as a result, the intended structure of the message is not preserved. In Xwiki platform web, 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

XWiki Platform before 12.8 mishandles escaping in the property displayer.

CVE-2020-13654 Affected Xwiki platform web Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
12.8
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web
maven/org.xwiki.platform/xwiki-platform-web
Maven
< 12.8
12.8

References

NVD — CVE-2020-13654 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-13654
Xwiki platform web Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/pull/1315
cve.anastasi.link/cve-2020-13654 WEB
https://cve.anastasi.link/cve-2020-13654
cve.nstsec.com/cve-2020-13654 WEB
https://cve.nstsec.com/cve-2020-13654
Xwiki platform web Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/compare/xwiki-platform-12.7.1...xwiki-platform-12.8
jira.xwiki.org/browse/xwiki-17374 WEB
https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-17374

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-13654?
CVE-2020-13654 is a security vulnerability in Xwiki platform web involving Improper escaping in XWiki Platform under CWE-116: Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output.
Which Xwiki platform web versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 12.8 across affected packages: org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web.
What version fixes CVE-2020-13654?
Upgrading to 12.8 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is xwiki-platform-web affected?
Yes, org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web is affected in releases prior to 12.8. Upgrade your dependency to 12.8 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-13654?
CVE-2020-13654 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-13654?
CVE-2020-13654 is classified under CWE-116: Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output (The product prepares a structured message for communication with another component, but encoding or escaping of the data is either missing or done incorrectly. As a result, the intended structure of the message is not preserved.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2020-13654?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.xwiki.platform'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-p93c-h8qm-7256",
  "modified" : "2024-05-02T19:36:08Z",
  "published" : "2022-02-09T22:32:29Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-13654" ],
  "summary" : "Improper escaping in XWiki Platform",
  "details" : "XWiki Platform before 12.8 mishandles escaping in the property displayer.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "12.8"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-13654"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/pull/1315"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://cve.anastasi.link/cve-2020-13654"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://cve.nstsec.com/cve-2020-13654"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/compare/xwiki-platform-12.7.1...xwiki-platform-12.8"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-17374"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-116" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-04-07T19:52:54Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-12-31T01:15:00Z"
  }
}