CVE-2023-45136: Xwiki platform web templates Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-qcj9-gcpg-4w2w
CVSS 9.6
CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-45136 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.6) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Xwiki platform web templates libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves xwiki platform web templates vulnerable to reflected xss in the create document form if name validation is enabled. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 14.10.12, 15.5-rc-1.

CVE-2023-45136 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-45136
GHSA Identifier GHSA-qcj9-gcpg-4w2w
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.6
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Xwiki platform web templates
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.6

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:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).

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

How to Fix CVE-2023-45136

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Xwiki platform web templates 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-templates fixed: 14.10.12
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.xwiki.platform</groupId>
    <artifactId>xwiki-platform-web-templates</artifactId>
    <version>14.10.12</version>
</dependency>
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates fixed: 15.5-rc-1
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.xwiki.platform</groupId>
    <artifactId>xwiki-platform-web-templates</artifactId>
    <version>15.5-rc-1</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-2023-45136, 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 templates in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 14.10.12), 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-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'), where the product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users. In Xwiki platform web templates, 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

### Impact When document names are validated according to a name strategy (disabled by default), XWiki is vulnerable to a reflected XSS attack in the page creation form. To reproduce, make sure that "Validate names before saving" is enabled in the administration under "Editing" -> "Name strategies" and then open `<xwiki-host>/xwiki/bin/create/Main/%3Cscript%3Ealert%28%27Test%20Test%20Test%20Test%20Test%27%29%3C%2Fscript%3E` where `<xwiki-host>` is the URL of your XWiki installation. This displays an alert if the installation is vulnerable. This allows an attacker to execute arbitrary actions with the rights of the user opening the malicious link. Depending on the rights of the user, this may allow remote code execution and full read and write access to the whole XWiki installation. ### Patches This has been patched in XWiki 14.10.12 and 15.5-RC-1 by adding appropriate escaping. ### Workarounds The vulnerable template file `createinline.vm` is part of XWiki's WAR and can be patched by manually applying the [changes from the fix](https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/ba56fda175156dd35035f2b8c86cbd8ef1f90c2e#diff-c222148bddebe4ff7629350f4053b618504a4ab172e697938c8fddf7c1fc6bc8).

CVE-2023-45136 Affected Xwiki platform web templates Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
14.10.1215.5-rc-1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates
Maven
≥ 12.0-rc-1
< 14.10.12
14.10.12
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates
Maven
≥ 15.0-rc-1
< 15.5-rc-1
15.5-rc-1

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-45136?
CVE-2023-45136 is a security vulnerability in Xwiki platform web templates involving XWiki Platform web templates vulnerable to reflected XSS in the create document form if name validation is enabled under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Xwiki platform web templates versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 14.10.12, 15.5-rc-1 across affected packages: org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates.
What version fixes CVE-2023-45136?
Upgrading to 14.10.12, 15.5-rc-1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is xwiki-platform-web-templates affected?
Yes, org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates is affected in releases prior to 14.10.12, 15.5-rc-1. Upgrade your dependency to 14.10.12, 15.5-rc-1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-45136?
CVE-2023-45136 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.6 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-45136?
CVE-2023-45136 is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') (The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2023-45136?
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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-qcj9-gcpg-4w2w",
  "modified" : "2023-11-03T15:39:11Z",
  "published" : "2023-10-25T21:13:37Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-45136" ],
  "summary" : "XWiki Platform web templates vulnerable to reflected XSS in the create document form if name validation is enabled",
  "details" : "### Impact\nWhen document names are validated according to a name strategy (disabled by default), XWiki is vulnerable to a reflected XSS attack in the page creation form. To reproduce, make sure that \"Validate names before saving\" is enabled in the administration under \"Editing\" -> \"Name strategies\" and then open `<xwiki-host>/xwiki/bin/create/Main/%3Cscript%3Ealert%28%27Test%20Test%20Test%20Test%20Test%27%29%3C%2Fscript%3E` where `<xwiki-host>` is the URL of your XWiki installation. This displays an alert if the installation is vulnerable. This allows an attacker to execute arbitrary actions with the rights of the user opening the malicious link. Depending on the rights of the user, this may allow remote code execution and full read and write access to the whole XWiki installation.\n\n### Patches\nThis has been patched in XWiki 14.10.12 and 15.5-RC-1 by adding appropriate escaping.\n\n### Workarounds\nThe vulnerable template file `createinline.vm` is part of XWiki's WAR and can be patched by manually applying the [changes from the fix](https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/ba56fda175156dd35035f2b8c86cbd8ef1f90c2e#diff-c222148bddebe4ff7629350f4053b618504a4ab172e697938c8fddf7c1fc6bc8).",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "12.0-rc-1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "14.10.12"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "15.0-rc-1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "15.5-rc-1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-qcj9-gcpg-4w2w"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-45136"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/ba56fda175156dd35035f2b8c86cbd8ef1f90c2e"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20854"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-10-25T21:13:37Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-10-25T20:15:12Z"
  }
}