CVE-2024-37899 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9) Code Injection vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2024-37899 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Disabling a user account changes its author, allowing RCE from user account in XWiki
Real-World Exposure
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore☕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
XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform offering runtime services for applications built on top of it. When an admin disables a user account, the user's profile is executed with the admin's rights. This allows a user to place malicious code in the user profile before getting an admin to disable the user account. To reproduce, as a user without script nor programming rights, edit the about section of your user profile and add {{groovy}}services.logging.getLogger("attacker").error("Hello from Groovy!"){{/groovy}}.
As an admin, go to the user profile and click the "Disable this account" button. Then, reload the page. If the logs show attacker - Hello from Groovy! then the instance is vulnerable. This has been patched in XWiki 14.10.21, 15.5.5, 15.10.6 and 16.0.0. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.
Workarounds
We're not aware of any workaround except upgrading.
References
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore | ≥ 13.4.7&&< 14.10.21 | 14.10.21 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore | ≥ 13.10.3&&< 14.10.21 | 14.10.21 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore | ≥ 15.0-rc-1&&< 15.5.5 | 15.5.5 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore | ≥ 15.6-rc-1&&< 15.10.6 | 15.10.6 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore | ≥ 16.0.0-rc-1&&< 16.0.0 | 16.0.0 |
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. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore to 14.10.21 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-37899 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 pinpoints whether CVE-2024-37899 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2024-37899. 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-2024-37899 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2024-37899 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.