CVE-2023-26472 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) CWE-116 vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-ui. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-ui — see the affected versions and patch details below.
XWiki Platform vulnerable to privilege escalation via async macro and IconThemeSheet from the user profile
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2023-26472.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2023-26472 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,333 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-ui☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-ui☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-uiReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform. Starting in version 6.2-milestone-1, one can execute any wiki content with the right of IconThemeSheet author by creating an icon theme with certain content. This can be done by creating a new page or even through the user profile for users not having edit right. The issue has been patched in XWiki 14.9, 14.4.6, and 13.10.10. An available workaround is to fix the bug in the page IconThemesCode.IconThemeSheet by applying a modification from commit 48caf7491595238af2b531026a614221d5d61f38.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-ui | ≥ 6.2-milestone-1&&< 13.10.10 | 13.10.10org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-ui:13.10.10 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-ui | ≥ 14.0&&< 14.4.6 | 14.4.6org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-ui:14.4.6 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-ui | ≥ 14.5&&< 14.9 | 14.9org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-ui:14.9 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-ui, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-ui to 13.10.10 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-26472 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2023-26472 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-26472. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-26472 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-26472 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.