CVE-2023-29205 — xwiki-platform-rendering-…
CRITICALCVE-2023-29205 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rendering-xwiki. 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-rendering-xwiki — see the affected versions and patch details below.
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rendering-xwiki vulnerable to stored cross-site scripting via HTML and raw macro
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- 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-2023-29205.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rendering-xwikiReal-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
The HTML macro does not systematically perform a proper neutralization of script-related html tags. As a result, any user able to use the html macro in XWiki, is able to introduce an XSS attack. This can be particularly dangerous since in a standard wiki, any user is able to use the html macro directly in their own user profile page.
Patches
The problem has been patched in XWiki 14.8RC1. The patch involve that the HTML macro are systematically cleaned up whenever the user does not have script right.
Workarounds
There's no workaround for this issue.
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in Jira
- Email us at security ML
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rendering-xwiki | all versions | 14.8-rc-1org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rendering-xwiki:14.8-rc-1 |
Affected Products
xwikixwikiResearch 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-xwiki, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-rendering-xwiki to 14.8-rc-1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-29205 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-29205 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.