GHSA-w4fj-87j5-f25c is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.1) CWE-80 vulnerability in org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates. A fix is available for org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates — see the affected versions and patch details below.
XWiki has Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) in page history compare
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-w4fj-87j5-f25c.
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-w4fj-87j5-f25c 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-web-templates☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates☕org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templatesReal-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
A reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability (XSS) in the compare view between revisions of a page allows executing JavaScript code in the user's browser. If the current user is an admin, this can not only affect the current user but also the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki instance.
Patches
The problem has been patched by properly escaping the URL parameters.
Workarounds
The patch can be applied manually to templates/changesdoc.vm in the deployed WAR.
Attribution
XWiki thanks Mike Cole @mikecole-mg for discovering and reporting this vulnerability.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates | ≥ 10.4-rc-1&&< 16.10.16 | 16.10.16org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates:16.10.16 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates | ≥ 17.0.0-rc-1&&< 17.4.8 | 17.4.8org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates:17.4.8 |
| ☕Maven | org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates | ≥ 17.5.0-rc-1&&< 17.10.1 | 17.10.1org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates:17.10.1 |
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-web-templates, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-web-templates to 16.10.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-w4fj-87j5-f25c 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-w4fj-87j5-f25c can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-w4fj-87j5-f25c. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
How to detect GHSA-w4fj-87j5-f25c
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id ghsa-w4fj-87j5-f25c -u https://target- Template
- XWiki - Cross-Site Scripting
- Severity
- medium
- Impact
- Attackers can execute JavaScript in users' browsers, potentially compromising admin accounts and the entire XWiki instance.
- Remediation
- Update to a version later than 17.10.0 or apply the patch to templates/changesdoc.vm manually.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (ritikchaddha), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-w4fj-87j5-f25c in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-w4fj-87j5-f25c across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.