CVE-2023-41046: Xwiki platform oldcore Velocity Execution Without Script Right Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-m5m2-h6h9-p2c8
CVSS 6.3
CWE-862
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-41046 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.3) velocity execution without script right vulnerability (CWE-862: Missing Authorization) affecting Xwiki platform oldcore libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves velocity execution without script right through velocitycode and velocitywiki property. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 14.10.10, 15.4-rc-1.

CVE-2023-41046 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-41046
GHSA Identifier GHSA-m5m2-h6h9-p2c8
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.3
CWE Classification CWE-862: Missing Authorization
Affected Product Xwiki platform oldcore
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.3

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:U/C:L/I:L/A:L).

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

How to Fix CVE-2023-41046

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.

org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore fixed: 14.10.10
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.xwiki.platform</groupId>
    <artifactId>xwiki-platform-oldcore</artifactId>
    <version>14.10.10</version>
</dependency>
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore fixed: 15.4-rc-1
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.xwiki.platform</groupId>
    <artifactId>xwiki-platform-oldcore</artifactId>
    <version>15.4-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-2023-41046, 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 14.10.10), 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-862: Missing Authorization, where the product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action. 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

### Impact It is possible in XWiki to execute Velocity code without having script right by creating an XClass with a property of type "TextArea" and content type "VelocityCode" or "VelocityWiki". For the former, the syntax of the document needs to be set the `xwiki/1.0` (this syntax doesn't need to be installed). In both cases, when adding the property to an object, the Velocity code is executed regardless of the rights of the author of the property (edit right is still required, though). In both cases, the code is executed with the correct context author so no privileged APIs can be accessed. However, Velocity still grants access to otherwise inaccessible data and APIs that could allow further privilege escalation. At least for "VelocityCode", this behavior is most likely very old but only since XWiki 7.2, script right is a separate right, before that version all users were allowed to execute Velocity and thus this was expected and not a security issue. ### Patches This has been patched in XWiki 14.10.10 and 15.4 RC1. ### Workarounds There are no known workarounds. ### References * https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20847 * https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20848 * https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/edc52579eeaab1b4514785c134044671a1ecd839

CVE-2023-41046 Affected Xwiki platform oldcore Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
14.10.1015.4-rc-1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore
Maven
≥ 7.2
< 14.10.10
14.10.10
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore
Maven
≥ 15.0-rc-1
< 15.4-rc-1
15.4-rc-1

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-41046?
CVE-2023-41046 is a security vulnerability in Xwiki platform oldcore involving Velocity execution without script right through VelocityCode and VelocityWiki property under CWE-862: Missing Authorization.
Which Xwiki platform oldcore versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 14.10.10, 15.4-rc-1 across affected packages: org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore.
What version fixes CVE-2023-41046?
Upgrading to 14.10.10, 15.4-rc-1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is xwiki-platform-oldcore affected?
Yes, org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore is affected in releases prior to 14.10.10, 15.4-rc-1. Upgrade your dependency to 14.10.10, 15.4-rc-1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-41046?
CVE-2023-41046 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-41046?
CVE-2023-41046 is classified under CWE-862: Missing Authorization (The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2023-41046?
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-m5m2-h6h9-p2c8",
  "modified" : "2023-09-04T16:36:40Z",
  "published" : "2023-09-04T16:36:40Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-41046" ],
  "summary" : "Velocity execution without script right through VelocityCode and VelocityWiki property",
  "details" : "### Impact\nIt is possible in XWiki to execute Velocity code without having script right by creating an XClass with a property of type \"TextArea\" and content type \"VelocityCode\" or \"VelocityWiki\". For the former, the syntax of the document needs to be set the `xwiki/1.0` (this syntax doesn't need to be installed). In both cases, when adding the property to an object, the Velocity code is executed regardless of the rights of the author of the property (edit right is still required, though). In both cases, the code is executed with the correct context author so no privileged APIs can be accessed. However, Velocity still grants access to otherwise inaccessible data and APIs that could allow further privilege escalation.\n\nAt least for \"VelocityCode\", this behavior is most likely very old but only since XWiki 7.2, script right is a separate right, before that version all users were allowed to execute Velocity and thus this was expected and not a security issue.\n\n### Patches\nThis has been patched in XWiki 14.10.10 and 15.4 RC1.\n\n### Workarounds\nThere are no known workarounds.\n\n### References\n* https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20847\n* https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20848\n* https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/edc52579eeaab1b4514785c134044671a1ecd839",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "7.2"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "14.10.10"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "15.0-rc-1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "15.4-rc-1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-m5m2-h6h9-p2c8"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-41046"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/edc52579eeaab1b4514785c134044671a1ecd839"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20847"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20848"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-862" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-09-04T16:36:40Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-09-01T20:15:07Z"
  }
}