GHSA-2858-8cfx-69m9 is a critical-severity (CVSS 10) CWE-95 vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui. 4 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui — see the affected versions and patch details below.
XWiki Platform: Remote code execution as guest via DatabaseSearch
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.
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-2858-8cfx-69m9.
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
GHSA-2858-8cfx-69m9 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 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-uiReal-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
XWiki's database search allows remote code execution through the search text. This allows remote code execution for any visitor of a public wiki or user of a closed wiki as the database search is by default accessible for all users. This impacts the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki installation.
To reproduce on an instance, without being logged in, go to <hostname>/xwiki/bin/get/Main/DatabaseSearch?outputSyntax=plain&text=%7D%7D%7D%7B%7Basync%20async%3Dfalse%7D%7D%7B%7Bgroovy%7D%7Dprintln%28%22Hello%20from%22%20%2B%20%22%20search%20text%3A%22%20%2B%20%2823%20%2B%2019%29%29%7B%7B%2Fgroovy%7D%7D%7B%7B%2Fasync%7D%7D%20. If the title of the RSS channel contains Hello from search text:42, the instance is vulnerable.
Patches
This vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 14.10.20, 15.5.4 and 15.10RC1.
Workarounds
It is possible to manually apply this patch to the page Main.DatabaseSearch. Alternatively, unless database search is explicitly used by users, this page can be deleted as this is not the default search interface of XWiki.
References
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui | ≥ 2.4-milestone-1&&< 14.10.20 | 14.10.20org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui:14.10.20 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui | ≥ 15.0-rc-1&&< 15.5.4 | 15.5.4org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui:15.5.4 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui | ≥ 15.6-rc-1&&< 15.10-rc-1 | 15.10-rc-1org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-search-ui:15.10-rc-1 |
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.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 14.10.20 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-2858-8cfx-69m9 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 GHSA-2858-8cfx-69m9 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-2858-8cfx-69m9. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
How to detect GHSA-2858-8cfx-69m9
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id ghsa-2858-8cfx-69m9 -u https://target- Template
- XWiki < 4.10.20 - Remote code execution
- Severity
- critical
- Impact
- Successful exploitation could lead to remote code execution.
- Remediation
- Apply the vendor-supplied patch or upgrade to a 14.10.20 ,15.5.4, 15.10-rc-1.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (ritikchaddha), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-2858-8cfx-69m9 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-2858-8cfx-69m9 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.