CVE-2023-29510 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) CWE-74 vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Code injection via unescaped translations in xwiki-platform
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-2023-29510.
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-2023-29510 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 378,567 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-administration-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
In XWiki, every user can add translations that are only applied to the current user. This also allows overriding existing translations. Such translations are often included in privileged contexts without any escaping which allows remote code execution for any user who has edit access on at least one document which could be the user's own profile where edit access is enabled by default.
The following describes a proof of concept exploit to demonstrate this vulnerability:
- Edit the user profile with the wiki editor and set the content to
error={{/html}} {{async async="true" cached="false" context="doc.reference"}}{{groovy}}println("hello from groovy!"){{/groovy}}{{/async}}
- Use the object editor to add an object of type
XWiki.TranslationDocumentClasswith scopeUSER. - Open the document
WikiManager.AdminWikiDescriptorSheet.
The expected result would be that a message with title {{/html}} {{async async="true" cached="false" context="doc.reference"}}{{groovy}}println("hello from groovy!"){{/groovy}}{{/async}} is displayed while in fact an error that the HTML macro couldn't be executed is displayed, followed by the text "hello from groovy!" and some raw HTML, showing that the Groovy macro has been executed.
Patches
A mitigation for this vulnerability is part of XWiki 14.10.2 and XWiki 15.0 RC1: translations with user scope now require script right. This means that regular users cannot exploit this anymore as users don't have script right by default anymore starting with XWiki 14.10.
Workarounds
There are no known workarounds apart from upgrading to a patched versions.
References
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-19749
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/d06ff8a58480abc7f63eb1d4b8b366024d990643
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-administration-ui | ≥ 4.3-milestone-2&&< 14.10.2 | 14.10.2org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui:14.10.2 |
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-administration-ui, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui to 14.10.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-29510 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-2023-29510 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-29510. 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-2023-29510 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-29510 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.