GHSA-6pqf-c99p-758v is a critical-severity (CVSS 9) CWE-74 vulnerability in org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml — see the affected versions and patch details below.
org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml's HTML sanitizer allows form elements in restricted
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 GHSA-6pqf-c99p-758v.
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-6pqf-c99p-758v 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 378,567 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml☕org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-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
The HTML sanitizer that is included in XWiki since version 14.6RC1 allowed form and input HTML tags. In the context of XWiki, this allows an attacker without script right to either create forms that can be used for phishing attacks or also in the context of a sheet, the attacker could add an input like {{html}}<input type="hidden" name="content" value="{{groovy}}println("Hello from Groovy!")" />{{/html}} that would allow remote code execution when it is submitted by an admin (the sheet is rendered as part of the edit form). The attacker would need to ensure that the edit form looks plausible, though, which can be non-trivial as without script right the attacker cannot display the regular content of the document.
Patches
This has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and 15.2RC1 by removing the central form-related tags from the list of allowed tags.
Workarounds
An admin can manually disallow the tags by adding form, input, select, textarea, button to the configuration option xml.htmlElementSanitizer.forbidTags in the xwiki.properties configuration file.
References
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml | ≥ 14.6-rc-1&&< 14.10.6 | 14.10.6org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml:14.10.6 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml | ≥ 15.0-rc-1&&< 15.2-rc-1 | 15.2-rc-1org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml:15.2-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.commons:xwiki-commons-xml, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml to 14.10.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-6pqf-c99p-758v 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-6pqf-c99p-758v can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-6pqf-c99p-758v. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-6pqf-c99p-758v in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-6pqf-c99p-758v across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.