CVE-2023-26479
MEDIUMorg.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rendering-parser vulnerable to Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions
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.
Blast Radius
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rendering-parser☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rendering-parser☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rendering-parserReal-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 6.0, users with write rights can insert well-formed content that is not handled well by the parser. As a consequence, some pages becomes unusable, including the user index (if the page containing the faulty content is a user page) and the page index.
Note that on the page, the normal UI is completely missing and it is not possible to open the editor directly to revert the change as the stack overflow is already triggered while getting the title of the document. This means that it is quite difficult to remove this content once inserted.
This has been patched in XWiki 13.10.10, 14.4.6, and 14.9-rc-1. A temporary workaround to avoid Stack Overflow errors is to increase the memory allocated to the stack by using the -Xss JVM parameter (e.g., -Xss32m). This should allow the parser to pass and to fix the faulty content. The consequences for other aspects of the system (e.g., performance) are unknown, and this workaround should be only be used as a temporary solution. The workaround does not prevent the issue occurring again with other content. Consequently, it is strongly advised to upgrade to a version where the issue has been patched.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rendering-parser | ≥ 6.0&&< 13.10.10 | 13.10.10 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rendering-parser | ≥ 14.0&&< 14.4.6 | 14.4.6 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rendering-parser | ≥ 14.5&&< 14.9-rc-1 | 14.9-rc-1 |
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-rendering-parser. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rendering-parser to 13.10.10 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-26479 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 pinpoints whether CVE-2023-26479 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2023-26479. 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-2023-26479 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2023-26479 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.