How severe is CVE-2023-50721?

CVE-2023-50721 has a CVSS score of 9.9/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2023-50721?

CVE-2023-50721 affects the following packages: org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui (Maven), org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui (Maven), org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2023-50721?

Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui to 14.10.15 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-50721 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2023-50721 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-search-ui, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2023-50721 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.

Is CVE-2023-50721 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2023-50721 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2023-50721?

CVE-2023-50721 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 78.8%, placing it in the 100th 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. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2023-50721?

CVE-2023-50721 is classified as Code Injection (CWE-94), CWE-95 (CWE-95). These weakness types 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-2023-50721 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2023-50721 was published on December 15, 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-2023-50721 — xwiki-platform-search-ui

CRITICALFix: xwiki/xwiki-platform@6286373

CVE-2023-50721 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) Code Injection vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui. EPSS puts its 30-day exploitation probability at 78.8% (100th percentile). A fix is available for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui — see the affected versions and patch details below.

XWiki Platform RCE from account through SearchAdmin

Also known asGHSA-7654-vfh6-rw6x

Published

Dec 15, 2023

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

3 pkgs

Patched

3 / 3

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 8, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

78.8%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs100th percentile — riskier than 100% 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-search-ui☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-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

Impact

The search administration interface doesn't properly escape the id and label of search user interface extensions, allowing the injection of XWiki syntax containing script macros including Groovy macros that allow remote code execution, impacting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki instance. This attack can be executed by any user who can edit some wiki page like the user's profile (editable by default) as user interface extensions that will be displayed in the search administration can be added on any document by any user.

To reproduce, edit any document with the object editor, add an object of type XWiki.UIExtensionClass, set "Extension Point Id" to org.xwiki.platform.search, set "Extension ID" to {{async}}{{groovy}}services.logging.getLogger("attacker").error("Attack from extension id succeeded!"){{/groovy}}{{/async}}, set "Extension Parameters" to label={{async}}{{groovy}}services.logging.getLogger("attacker").error("Attack from label succeeded!"){{/groovy}}{{/async}} and "Extension Scope" to "Current User". Then open the page XWiki.SearchAdmin, e.g., on http://localhost:8080/xwiki/bin/view/XWiki/SearchAdmin. If there are error log messages in XWiki's log that announce that attacks succeeded, the instance is vulnerable.

Patches

The necessary escaping has been added in XWiki 14.10.15, 15.5.2 and 15.7RC1.

Workarounds

The patch can be manually applied to the page XWiki.SearchAdmin.

References

Affected Packages

3 total 3 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui`	≥ 4.5-rc-1&&< 14.10.15	14.10.15`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui:14.10.15`
☕Maven	`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui`	≥ 15.0-rc-1&&< 15.5.2	15.5.2`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui:15.5.2`
☕Maven	`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui`	≥ 15.6-rc-1&&< 15.7-rc-1	15.7-rc-1`org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui:15.7-rc-1`

Affected Products

1 product · 5 configurations

Application

xwikixwiki

≥ 15.0 && < 15.5.2

2 versions

15.615.7

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-search-ui, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui to 14.10.15 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-50721 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact The search administration interface doesn't properly escape the id and label of search user interface extensions, allowing the injection of XWiki syntax containing script macros including Groovy macros that allow remote code execution, impacting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki instance. This attack can be executed by any user who can edit some wiki page like the user's profile (editable by default) as user interface extensions that will be displayed in the search administration can be added on any document by any user. To reproduce, edit any docum