How severe is CVE-2023-36477?

CVE-2023-36477 has a CVSS score of 9/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2023-36477?

CVE-2023-36477 affects the following packages: org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui (Maven), org.xwiki.contrib:application-ckeditor-ui (Maven), org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2023-36477?

Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui to 14.10.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-36477 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2023-36477 in my Maven dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2023-36477 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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.

Is CVE-2023-36477 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 3 known exploit references for CVE-2023-36477, including 3 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2023-36477?

CVE-2023-36477 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.9%, placing it in the 60th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2023-36477?

CVE-2023-36477 is classified as Cross-site Scripting (XSS) (CWE-79). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2023-36477 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2023-36477 was published on June 30, 2023 and was last updated on October 28, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

☕

☕ Maven

Not in CISA KEV

CRITICAL severity

CVE-2023-36477 — xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui

CRITICALFix: xwiki/xwiki-platform@9d9d861

CVE-2023-36477 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui. 3 public exploit or proof-of-concept references are indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Persistent Cross-site Scripting (XSS) through CKEditor Configuration pages in XWiki Platform

Also known asGHSA-793w-g325-hrw2

Published

Jun 30, 2023

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

3 pkgs

Patched

3 / 3

Exploits

3 known

Exploitation data as of Nov 10, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

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-2023-36477.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.9%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs60th percentile — riskier than 60% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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

3 pkgs affected

☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui☕org.xwiki.contrib:application-ckeditor-ui☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui

Real-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

Effect

Any user with edit rights can edit all pages in the `CKEditor' space. This makes it possible to perform a variety of harmful actions, such as

removing technical documents, leading to loss of service
Editing the javascript configuration of CKEditor, leading to persistent XSS

Patches

This issue has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and XWiki 15.1. This issue has been patched on the CKEditor Integration extension 1.64.9 for XWiki version older than 14.6RC1.

Workarounds

The issue can be fixed manually by restricting the edit and delete rights to a trusted user or group (e.g. the XWiki.XWikiAdminGroup group), implicitly disabling those rights for all other users. See https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/9d9d86179457cb8dc48b4491510537878800be4f

References

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

3 total 3 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui`	≥ 14.6-rc-1&&< 14.10.6	14.10.6`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui:14.10.6`
☕Maven	`org.xwiki.contrib:application-ckeditor-ui`	≥ 1.9&&< 1.64.9	1.64.9`org.xwiki.contrib:application-ckeditor-ui:1.64.9`
☕Maven	`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui`	≥ 15.0-rc-1&&< 15.1	15.1`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui:15.1`

Affected Products

2 products · 4 configurations

Application

ckeditor integrationxwiki

≥ 1.9 && < 1.64.9

range

Application

xwikixwiki

≥ 14.6 && < 14.10.6

1 version

15.0

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform offering runtime services for …

github.comNVDJul 2023

Report on jira.xwiki.org

jira.xwiki.orgNVDJul 2023

Report on jira.xwiki.org

jira.xwiki.orgNVDJul 2023

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-ckeditor-ui to 14.10.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-36477 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

### Effect Any user with edit rights can edit all pages in the `CKEditor' space. This makes it possible to perform a variety of harmful actions, such as - removing technical documents, leading to loss of service - Editing the javascript configuration of CKEditor, leading to persistent XSS ### Patches This issue has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and XWiki 15.1. This issue has been patched on the CKEditor Integration extension 1.64.9 for XWiki version older than 14.6RC1. ### Workarounds The issue can be fixed manually by restricting the `edit` and `delete` rights to a trusted user or group (e.