How severe is CVE-2023-40572?

CVE-2023-40572 has a CVSS score of 9/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2023-40572?

CVE-2023-40572 affects the following packages: org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore (Maven), org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2023-40572?

Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore to 14.10.9 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-40572 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2023-40572 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-oldcore, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2023-40572 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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.

Is CVE-2023-40572 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for CVE-2023-40572, including 1 in-the-wild exploitation 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-2023-40572?

CVE-2023-40572 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.6%, placing it in the 50th 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-2023-40572?

CVE-2023-40572 is classified as Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) (CWE-352). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2023-40572 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2023-40572 was published on August 24, 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-2023-40572 — xwiki-platform-oldcore

CRITICALFix: xwiki/xwiki-platform@4b20528

CVE-2023-40572 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9) Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore — see the affected versions and patch details below.

XWiki Platform vulnerable to CSRF privilege escalation/RCE via the create action

Also known asGHSA-4f8m-7h83-9f6m

Published

Aug 24, 2023

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

2 / 2

Exploits

1 known

Exploitation data as of Nov 4, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.6%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs50th percentile — riskier than 50% 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

2 pkgs affected

☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore

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

Impact

The create action is vulnerable to a CSRF attack, allowing script and thus remote code execution when targeting a user with script/programming right, thus compromising the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki installation. To reproduce, the XWiki syntax [[image:path:/xwiki/bin/create/Foo/WebHome?template=&parent=Main.WebHome&title=$services.logging.getLogger(%22foo%22).error(%22Script%20executed!%22)]] can be added to any place that supports XWiki syntax like a comment. When a user with script right views this image and a log message ERROR foo - Script executed! appears in the log, the XWiki installation is vulnerable.

Patches

This has been patched in XWiki 14.10.9 and 15.4RC1 by requiring a CSRF token for the actual page creation.

Workarounds

There are no known workarounds.

References

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore`	≥ 3.2-milestone-3&&< 14.10.9	14.10.9`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore:14.10.9`
☕Maven	`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore`	≥ 15.0-rc-1&&< 15.4-rc-1	15.4-rc-1`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore:15.4-rc-1`

Affected Products

1 product · 9 configurations

Application

xwikixwiki

< 14.10.9

4 versions

15.015.115.215.3

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 …

jira.xwiki.orgNVDSep 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-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 14.10.9 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-40572 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact The create action is vulnerable to a CSRF attack, allowing script and thus remote code execution when targeting a user with script/programming right, thus compromising the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki installation. To reproduce, the XWiki syntax `[[image:path:/xwiki/bin/create/Foo/WebHome?template=&parent=Main.WebHome&title=$services.logging.getLogger(%22foo%22).error(%22Script%20executed!%22)]]` can be added to any place that supports XWiki syntax like a comment. When a user with script right views this image and a log message `ERROR foo - Script e