How severe is CVE-2023-27480?

CVE-2023-27480 has a CVSS score of 7.7/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2023-27480?

CVE-2023-27480 affects the following packages: org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model (Maven), org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model (Maven), org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2023-27480?

Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model to 13.10.11 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-27480 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2023-27480 in my Maven dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2023-27480 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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.

Is CVE-2023-27480 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 2 known exploit references for CVE-2023-27480, including 2 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2023-27480?

CVE-2023-27480 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.7%, placing it in the 55th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2023-27480?

CVE-2023-27480 is classified as XML External Entity (XXE) (CWE-611). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2023-27480 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2023-27480 was published on March 7, 2023 and was last updated on October 28, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

☕

☕ Maven

Not in CISA KEV

HIGH severity

CVE-2023-27480 — xwiki-platform-xar-model

HIGHFix: xwiki/xwiki-platform@e3527b9

CVE-2023-27480 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.7) XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model. 2 public exploit or proof-of-concept references are indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Data leak through a XAR import XXE attack in xwiki-platform-xar-model

Also known asGHSA-gx4f-976g-7g6v

Published

Mar 7, 2023

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

3 pkgs

Patched

3 / 3

Exploits

2 known

Exploitation data as of Nov 2, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

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-2023-27480.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.7%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs55th percentile — riskier than 55% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

3 pkgs affected

☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model

Real-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

Impact

Any user with edit rights on a document can trigger a XAR import on a forged XAR file, leading to the ability to display the content of any file on the XWiki server host.

Example to reproduce:

Create a forget XAR file and inside it, have the following package.xml content:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE foo [ <!ENTITY xxe SYSTEM "file:///etc/passwd"> ]>

<package>
<infos>
<name>&xxe;</name>
<description> &xxe; Helper pages for creating and listing Class/Template/Sheets</description>
<licence></licence>
<author>XWiki.Admin</author>
...

Upload it onto a wiki page (e.g. XXE) as an attachment (e.g. test.xar).
Call the page using http://localhost:8080/xwiki/bin/view/Main/XXE?sheet=XWiki.AdminImportSheet&file=test.xar

You'll then notice that the displayed UI contains the content of the /etc/passwd file.

Patches

The vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 13.10.11, 14.4.7 and 14.10-rc-1.

Workarounds

You'd need to get XWiki Platform sources and apply the changes from https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/e3527b98fdd8dc8179c24dc55e662b2c55199434 to the XarPackage java class and then copy the modified version to your WEB-INF/classes directory (or rebuild the xwiki-platform-xar-model maven module and replace the one found in WEB-INF/lib/).

References

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Open an issue in Jira XWiki.org
Email us at Security Mailing List

Affected Packages

3 total 3 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model`	≥ 1.1-milestone-3&&< 13.10.11	13.10.11`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model:13.10.11`
☕Maven	`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model`	≥ 14.0&&< 14.4.7	14.4.7`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model:14.4.7`
☕Maven	`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model`	≥ 14.5&&< 14.10-rc-1	14.10-rc-1`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model:14.10-rc-1`

Affected Products

1 product · 5 configurations

Application

xwikixwiki

≥ 14.5 && < 14.10

1 version

1.1

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform offering runtime services for …

jira.xwiki.orgNVDMar 2023

Report on github.com

github.comNVDMar 2023

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-xar-model to 13.10.11 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-27480 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact Any user with edit rights on a document can trigger a XAR import on a forged XAR file, leading to the ability to display the content of any file on the XWiki server host. Example to reproduce: * Create a forget XAR file and inside it, have the following `package.xml` content: ```xml <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE foo [ <!ENTITY xxe SYSTEM "file:///etc/passwd"> ]> <package> <infos> <name>&xxe;</name> <description> &xxe; Helper pages for creating and listing Class/Template/Sheets</description> <licence></licence> <author>XWiki.Admin</author> ...