CVE-2023-29208 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-668 vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Data leak through deleted documents
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- 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-2023-29208.
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-2023-29208 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 378,156 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-oldcore☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcoreReal-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
Rights added to a document are not taken into account for viewing it once it's deleted. Note that this vulnerability only impact deleted documents that where containing view rights: the view rights provided on a space of a deleted document are properly checked.
Patches
The problem has been patched in XWiki 14.10 by checking the rights of current user: only admin and deleter of the document are allowed to view it.
Workarounds
There is no workaround for this vulnerability other than upgrading.
References
- Jira ticket: https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-16285
- Commit: https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/d9e947559077e947315bf700c5703dfc7dd8a8d7
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-oldcore | ≥ 1.2-milestone-1&&< 13.10.11 | 13.10.11org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore:13.10.11 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore | ≥ 14.0-rc-1&&< 14.4.7 | 14.4.7org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore:14.4.7 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore | ≥ 14.5&&< 14.10 | 14.10org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore:14.10 |
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-oldcore, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore to 13.10.11 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-29208 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-2023-29208 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-29208. 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-2023-29208 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-29208 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.