CVE-2023-46243 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) Code Injection vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore. A fix is available for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Code execution via the edit action 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-2023-46243.
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-2023-46243 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 378,156 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-oldcore☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcoreReal-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 Platform, it's possible for a user to execute any content with the right of an existing document's content author, provided the user have edit right on it. The reason for this is that the edit action sets the content without modifying the content author.
To reproduce:
- Log in as a user without programming or script right.
- Open the URL
<xwiki-host>/xwiki/bin/edit/<document>/?content=%7B%7Bgroovy%7D%7Dprintln%28%22Hello+from+Groovy%21%22%29%7B%7B%2Fgroovy%7D%7D&xpage=view, where<xwiki-host>is the URL of your XWiki installation and<document>is the path to a document whose content author has programming right (or script right) and on which the current user has edit right.
The text "Hello from Groovy!" is displayed in the page content, showing that the Groovy macro has been executed, which should not be the case for a user without programming right.
Patches
This has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and 15.2RC1.
Workarounds
There are no known workarounds for it.
References
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20385
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/a0e6ca083b36be6f183b9af33ae735c1e02010f4
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-oldcore | ≥ 15.0&&< 15.2-rc-1 | 15.2-rc-1org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore:15.2-rc-1 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore | ≥ 1.0&&< 14.10.6 | 14.10.6org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore:14.10.6 |
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-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 15.2-rc-1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-46243 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-2023-46243 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-46243. 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-2023-46243 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-46243 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.