CVE-2023-36469 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) CWE-74 vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-ui. 2 public exploit references exist, 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.
Code injection through NotificationRSSService 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-2023-36469.
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-2023-36469 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE sits: patch-first territory.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% 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-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 who can edit their own user profile and notification settings can execute arbitrary script macros including Groovy and Python macros that allow remote code execution including unrestricted read and write access to all wiki contents. This can be reproduced with the following steps:
- Login as a user without script or programming right.
- Go to the notifications preferences in your user profile.
- Disable the "Own Events Filter" and enable notifications in the notification menu for "Like".
- Set your first name to
{{cache id="security" timeToLive="1"}}{{groovy}}println("Hello from groovy!"){{/groovy}}{{/cache}} - Click on the like button at the bottom left of the user profile.
- Click on the notifications bell in the top bar and then on "RSS Feed".
If the text "Profile of Hello from groovy!" and/or "liked by Hello from groovy!" is displayed, the attack succeeded. The expected result would have been that the entered first name is displayed as-is in the description of the feed.
Patches
This has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and 15.2RC1.
Workarounds
The main security fix can be manually applied by patching the affected document XWiki.Notifications.Code.NotificationRSSService as shown in the patch. This will break the link to the differences, though as this requires additional changes to Velocity templates as shown in the patch. While the default template is available in the instance and can be easily patched, the template for mentions is contained in a .jar-file and thus cannot be fixed without replacing that jar.
References
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-ui | ≥ 9.6-rc-1&&< 14.10.6 | 14.10.6org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-ui:14.10.6 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-ui | ≥ 15.0-rc-1&&< 15.2-rc-1 | 15.2-rc-1org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-notifications-ui:15.2-rc-1 |
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-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 14.10.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-36469 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-2023-36469 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-36469. 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-2023-36469 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-36469 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.