GHSA-9j36-3cp4-rh4j
CRITICALGHSA-9j36-3cp4-rh4j is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) CWE-74 vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform.applications:xwiki-application-administration. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-9j36-3cp4-rh4j is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
XWiki vulnerable to Code Injection in template provider administration
Blast Radius
org.xwiki.platform.applications:xwiki-application-administration☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-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
Any user with edit rights on any document (e.g., the own user profile) can execute code with programming rights, leading to remote code execution by following these steps:
- Set the title of any document you can edit (can be the user profile) to
{{async async="true" cached="false" context="doc.reference"}}{{groovy}}println("Hello " + "from groovy!"){{/groovy}}{{/async}}
- Use the object editor to add an object of type
XWiki.TemplateProviderClass(named "Template Provider Class") to that document. - Go to another document you can view (can be the home page) and append
?sheet=XWiki.AdminTemplatesSheetto the URL.
When the attack is successful, a template with name "Hello from groovy!" is displayed in the list while on fixed systems, the full title should be displayed.
Patches
This vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 13.10.11, 14.4.8, 14.10.1 and 15.0 RC1.
Workarounds
The vulnerability can be fixed by patching the code in the affected XWiki document as shown in the patch.
References
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20268
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/7bf7094f8ffac095f5d66809af7554c9cc44de09
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.platform.applications:xwiki-application-administration | ≥ 1.35 | No fix |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration | ≥ 3.1-milestone-1 | No fix |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui | ≥ 4.2-milestone-1&&< 13.10.11 | 13.10.11 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui | ≥ 14.0-rc-1&&< 14.4.8 | 14.4.8 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-administration-ui | ≥ 14.5&&< 14.10.1 | 14.10.1 |
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.applications:xwiki-application-administration. 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
No patched version of org.xwiki.platform.applications:xwiki-application-administration has shipped for GHSA-9j36-3cp4-rh4j yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
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 GHSA-9j36-3cp4-rh4j 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 GHSA-9j36-3cp4-rh4j. 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-9j36-3cp4-rh4j in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-9j36-3cp4-rh4j across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.