CVE-2023-49280 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.7) CWE-522 vulnerability in org.xwiki.contrib.changerequest:application-changerequest-default. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.xwiki.contrib.changerequest:application-changerequest-default — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Data leak of password hash through xwiki change request
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- 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-2023-49280.
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-2023-49280 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 377,333 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.contrib.changerequest:application-changerequest-defaultReal-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
XWiki Change Request is an XWiki application allowing to request changes on a wiki without publishing directly the changes. Change request allows to edit any page by default, and the changes are then exported in an XML file that anyone can download. So it's possible for an attacker to obtain password hash of users by performing an edit on the user profiles and then downloading the XML file that has been created. This is also true for any document that might contain password field and that a user can view. This vulnerability impacts all version of Change Request, but the impact depends on the rights that has been set on the wiki since it requires for the user to have the Change request right (allowed by default) and view rights on the page to target. This issue cannot be easily exploited in an automated way. The patch consists in denying to users the right of editing pages that contains a password field with change request. It means that already existing change request for those pages won't be removed by the patch, administrators needs to take care of it. The patch is provided in Change Request 1.10, administrators should upgrade immediately. It's possible to workaround the vulnerability by denying manually the Change request right on some spaces, such as XWiki space which will include any user profile by default.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.contrib.changerequest:application-changerequest-default | ≥ 0.1&&< 1.10 | 1.10org.xwiki.contrib.changerequest:application-changerequest-default:1.10 |
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.contrib.changerequest:application-changerequest-default, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.xwiki.contrib.changerequest:application-changerequest-default to 1.10 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-49280 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-2023-49280 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-49280. 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-2023-49280 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-49280 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.