How severe is CVE-2025-53836?

CVE-2025-53836 has a CVSS score of 9.9/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

How do I fix CVE-2025-53836?

Update org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-transformation-macro to 13.10.11 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-53836 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2025-53836 in my Maven dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-transformation-macro, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2025-53836 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-2025-53836 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2025-53836 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-2025-53836?

CVE-2025-53836 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.6%, placing it in the 51th 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-2025-53836?

CVE-2025-53836 is classified as Code Injection (CWE-94), CWE-863 (CWE-863). 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-2025-53836 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2025-53836 was published on July 14, 2025 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-2025-53836 — xwiki-rendering-transform…

CRITICALFix: xwiki/xwiki-rendering@c73fa3c

CVE-2025-53836 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) Code Injection vulnerability in org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-transformation-macro. A fix is available for org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-transformation-macro — see the affected versions and patch details below.

XWiki Rendering is vulnerable to RCE attacks when processing nested macros

Also known asGHSA-32mf-57h2-64x9

Published

Jul 14, 2025

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

3 pkgs

Patched

3 / 3

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 10, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

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-2025-53836.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.6%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs51th percentile — riskier than 51% 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.rendering:xwiki-rendering-transformation-macro☕org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-transformation-macro☕org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-transformation-macro

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 default macro content parser didn't preserve the restricted attribute of the transformation context when executing nested macros. This allows executing macros that are normally forbidden in restricted mode, in particular script macros. The cache and chart macros that are bundled in XWiki use the vulnerable feature. The following XWiki syntax, when used inside a comment in XWiki, demonstrates the privilege escalation from comment right to programming right and thus remote code execution (RCE) that is possible due to this:

{{cache}}{{groovy}}println("Hello from Groovy!"){{/groovy}}{{/cache}}

This vulnerability exists since the restricted attribute has been added to the transformation context in version 4.2.

Patches

This has been patched in XWiki 13.10.11, 14.4.7 and 14.10.

Workarounds

To avoid the exploitation of this bug, comments can be disabled for untrusted users until an upgrade to a patched version has been performed. Note that users with edit rights will still be able to add comments via the object editor even if comments have been disabled.

Resources

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

Attribution

This vulnerability has been reported on Intigriti by René de Sain @renniepak.

Affected Packages

3 total 3 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-transformation-macro`	≥ 4.2-milestone-1&&< 13.10.11	13.10.11`org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-transformation-macro:13.10.11`
☕Maven	`org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-transformation-macro`	≥ 14.0&&< 14.4.7	14.4.7`org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-transformation-macro:14.4.7`
☕Maven	`org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-transformation-macro`	≥ 14.5&&< 14.10	14.10`org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-transformation-macro:14.10`

Affected Products

1 product · 7 configurations

Application

xwikixwiki

≥ 14.5 && < 14.10

1 version

4.2

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.rendering:xwiki-rendering-transformation-macro, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-transformation-macro to 13.10.11 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-53836 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 default macro content parser didn't preserve the restricted attribute of the transformation context when executing nested macros. This allows executing macros that are normally forbidden in restricted mode, in particular script macros. The [cache](https://extensions.xwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Extension/Cache%20Macro) and [chart](https://extensions.xwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Extension/Chart%20Macro) macros that are bundled in XWiki use the vulnerable feature. The following XWiki syntax, when used inside a comment in XWiki, demonstrates the privilege escalation from comment right to