GHSA-m5m2-h6h9-p2c8 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.3) CWE-862 vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore. A fix is available for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Velocity execution without script right through VelocityCode and VelocityWiki property
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.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-m5m2-h6h9-p2c8.
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-m5m2-h6h9-p2c8 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.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcoreReal-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
It is possible in XWiki to execute Velocity code without having script right by creating an XClass with a property of type "TextArea" and content type "VelocityCode" or "VelocityWiki". For the former, the syntax of the document needs to be set the xwiki/1.0 (this syntax doesn't need to be installed). In both cases, when adding the property to an object, the Velocity code is executed regardless of the rights of the author of the property (edit right is still required, though). In both cases, the code is executed with the correct context author so no privileged APIs can be accessed. However, Velocity still grants access to otherwise inaccessible data and APIs that could allow further privilege escalation.
At least for "VelocityCode", this behavior is most likely very old but only since XWiki 7.2, script right is a separate right, before that version all users were allowed to execute Velocity and thus this was expected and not a security issue.
Patches
This has been patched in XWiki 14.10.10 and 15.4 RC1.
Workarounds
There are no known workarounds.
References
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore | ≥ 7.2&&< 14.10.10 | 14.10.10org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore:14.10.10 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore | ≥ 15.0-rc-1&&< 15.4-rc-1 | 15.4-rc-1org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore:15.4-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-oldcore, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-oldcore to 14.10.10 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-m5m2-h6h9-p2c8 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-m5m2-h6h9-p2c8 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-m5m2-h6h9-p2c8. 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-m5m2-h6h9-p2c8 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-m5m2-h6h9-p2c8 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.