CVE-2025-53837 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) remote code execution vulnerability in org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-xml. A fix is available for org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-xml — see the affected versions and patch details below.
org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-xml has an Eval Injection issue
Real-World Exposure
org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-xmlReal-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
Any user who can edit their own user profile or any other document can execute arbitrary script macros including Groovy and Python macros that allow remote code execution including unrestricted read and write access to all wiki contents. The reason is that rendering output is included as content of HTML macros without further escaping and it is thus possible to close the HTML macro and inject script macros that are executed with programming rights.
This can be demonstrated by adding an object of type XWiki.UIExtensionClass to a document with content {{html wiki="true"}}~{~{~/~h~t~m~l~}~}~ ~{~{~c~a~c~h~e~}~}~{~{~g~r~o~o~v~y~}~}~p~r~i~n~t~l~n~(~1~)~{~{~/~g~r~o~o~v~y~}~}~{~{~/~c~a~c~h~e~}~}{{/html}}, extension point id org.xwiki.platform.html.head, extension id org.xwiki.myuser.test and extension scope "current user". When opening <xwiki-server>/xwiki/bin/view/Main/?sheet=CKEditor.ContentSheet&xpage=plain where <xwiki-server> is the URL of the XWiki installation, the output should start with {{/html}} {{cache}}{{groovy}}println(1){{/groovy}}{{/cache}} and not with 1</p>.
This escaping was always missing at least in XWiki syntax version 2, it is definitely exploitable in XWiki 3.3 Milestone 1 via the user profile (not through extension points), though this has also been fixed by a separate patch, see the advisory. Exploitable extension points include org.xwiki.platform.search.ui.docdoesnotexist which has been added in XWiki 8.3 Milestone 1.
Patches
This has been patched in XWiki 14.10.2 and 15.0 RC1 by making sure that rendering output cannot close the surrounding HTML macro.
Workarounds
It is in principle possible to add escaping to all places where rendering output is used in wiki documents but at the moment there is no list of them.
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.rendering:xwiki-rendering-xml | all versions | 14.10.2org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-xml:14.10.2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-xml, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-xml to 14.10.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-53837 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-2025-53837 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2025-53837. 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-2025-53837 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2025-53837 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.