GHSA-9m7c-m33f-3429
MEDIUMXWiki PDF export jobs store sensitive cookies unencrypted in job statuses
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.
Blast Radius
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-export-pdf-api☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-export-pdf-api☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-export-pdf-apiReal-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 PDF export uses a background job that runs on the server-side. Jobs like this have a status that is serialized in the permanent directory when the job is finished. The job status includes the job request. The PDF export job request is initialized, before the job starts, with some context information that is needed to replicate the HTTP request (used to trigger the export) in the background thread used to run the export job. This context information includes the cookies from the HTTP request that triggered the export. As a result, the user cookies (including the encrypted username and password) are stored in the permanent directory after the PDF export is finished. As the encryption key is stored in the same data directory (by default it is generated in data/configuration.properties), this means that this job status contains the equivalent of the plain text password of the user who requested the PDF export.
XWiki shouldn't store passwords in plain text, and it shouldn't be possible to gain access to plain text passwords by gaining access to, e.g., a backup of the data directory.
Patches
This vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 16.4.8, 16.10.7 and 17.4.0RC1.
Workarounds
We're not aware of any workarounds except for upgrading.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-export-pdf-api | ≥ 14.4.2&&< 16.4.8 | 16.4.8 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-export-pdf-api | ≥ 16.5.0-rc-1&&< 16.10.7 | 16.10.7 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-export-pdf-api | ≥ 17.0.0-rc-1&&< 17.4.0-rc-1 | 17.4.0-rc-1 |
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-export-pdf-api. 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
Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-export-pdf-api to 16.4.8 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-9m7c-m33f-3429 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 pinpoints whether GHSA-9m7c-m33f-3429 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-9m7c-m33f-3429. 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-9m7c-m33f-3429 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-9m7c-m33f-3429 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.