GHSA-hf43-47q4-fhq5 is a critical-severity (CVSS 10) CWE-95 vulnerability in org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-velocity. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-velocity — see the affected versions and patch details below.
XWiki Commons missing escaping of `{` in Velocity escapetool allows remote code execution
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-hf43-47q4-fhq5.
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-hf43-47q4-fhq5 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% 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-velocity☕org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-velocity☕org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-velocityReal-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 escaping of escaping tool that is used in XWiki doesn't escape {, which, when used in certain places, allows XWiki syntax injection and thereby remote code execution.
To reproduce in an XWiki installation, open <xwiki-host>/xwiki/bin/view/Panels/PanelLayoutUpdate?place=%7B%7B%2Fhtml%7D%7D%7B%7Basync%20async%3Dfalse%7D%7D%7B%7Bvelocity%7D%7D%23evaluate(%24request.eval)%7B%7B%2Fvelocity%7D%7D%7B%7B%2Fasync%7D%7D&eval=Hello%20from%20URL%20Parameter!%20I%20got%20programming%3A%20%24services.security.authorization.hasAccess(%27programming%27) where <xwiki-host> is the URL of your XWiki installation. If this displays You are not admin on this place Hello from URL Parameter! I got programming: true, the installation is vulnerable.
Patches
The vulnerability has been fixed on XWiki 14.10.19, 15.5.5, and 15.9 RC1.
Workarounds
Apart from upgrading, there is no generic workaround. However, replacing $escapetool.html by $escapetool.xml in XWiki documents fixes the vulnerability. In a standard XWiki installation, we're only aware of the document Panels.PanelLayoutUpdate that exposes this vulnerability, patching this document is thus a workaround. Any extension could expose this vulnerability and might thus require patching, too.
References
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-velocity | ≥ 3.0.1&&< 14.10.19 | 14.10.19org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-velocity:14.10.19 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-velocity | ≥ 15.0-rc-1&&< 15.5.4 | 15.5.4org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-velocity:15.5.4 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-velocity | ≥ 15.6-rc-1&&< 15.9-rc-1 | 15.9-rc-1org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-velocity:15.9-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-velocity, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-velocity to 14.10.19 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-hf43-47q4-fhq5 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-hf43-47q4-fhq5 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-hf43-47q4-fhq5. 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-hf43-47q4-fhq5 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-hf43-47q4-fhq5 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.