CVE-2023-40177 in XWiki
Summary
by MITRE • 08/24/2023
XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform offering runtime services for applications built on top of it. Any registered user can use the content field of their user profile page to execute arbitrary scripts with programming rights, thus effectively performing rights escalation. This issue is present since version 4.3M2 when AppWithinMinutes Application added support for the Content field, allowing any wiki page (including the user profile page) to use its content as an AWM Content field, which has a custom displayer that executes the content with the rights of the ``AppWithinMinutes.Content`` author, rather than the rights of the content author. The vulnerability has been fixed in XWiki 14.10.5 and 15.1RC1. The fix is in the content of the AppWithinMinutes.Content page that defines the custom displayer. By using the ``display`` script service to render the content we make sure that the proper author is used for access rights checks.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/14/2023
The vulnerability CVE-2023-40177 represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within the XWiki Platform that affects users with registered accounts. This security issue stems from the improper handling of content execution rights within the AppWithinMinutes Application module, which was introduced in version 4.3M2. The flaw allows any authenticated user to exploit the content field of their user profile page to execute arbitrary scripts with elevated programming rights, effectively bypassing normal access control mechanisms that should restrict content execution based on the actual content author's permissions.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the custom displayer implementation for the AppWithinMinutes.Content field that executes content with the rights of the AppWithinMinutes.Content author rather than the content author's actual permissions. This misconfiguration creates a dangerous execution context where user profile content can be interpreted and executed with programming privileges that exceed the typical user's access level. The vulnerability specifically targets the content field of user profile pages, which are normally restricted to read-only operations, but the AppWithinMinutes Application's content handling mechanism allows these fields to be interpreted as executable code with elevated privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it enables authenticated attackers to perform unauthorized code execution with programming rights, potentially allowing them to modify system configurations, access restricted data, or escalate privileges to administrative levels. This flaw essentially creates a backdoor through which any registered user can gain elevated access to the platform's core functionality. The vulnerability affects all versions of XWiki Platform prior to 14.10.5 and 15.1RC1, making it a widespread concern for organizations running affected versions. The exploitability is relatively straightforward as it requires only a registered user account and access to modify profile content fields.
The fix implemented in XWiki versions 14.10.5 and 15.1RC1 addresses this issue by modifying the content handling within the AppWithinMinutes.Content page to utilize the display script service for rendering content. This change ensures that proper author information is maintained during access rights checks, preventing the execution context from being overridden by the AppWithinMinutes.Content author's permissions. This remediation aligns with security best practices for access control and privilege management, as outlined in CWE-284 Access Control and CWE-79 Cross-site Scripting. The solution follows established security principles that require proper authorization checks and maintain the integrity of execution contexts, preventing the type of privilege escalation that occurred in this vulnerability.
Organizations using XWiki Platform should immediately upgrade to the patched versions to mitigate this risk. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper access control implementation in web applications, particularly when dealing with user-generated content that may be interpreted as executable code. Security teams should also implement additional monitoring for suspicious profile modifications and content execution patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of maintaining proper privilege boundaries and ensuring that content execution contexts respect the actual author's permissions rather than being overridden by application-specific configuration settings. The fix represents a standard security measure that emphasizes the need for proper access control implementation and the use of secure content rendering services that maintain proper authorization contexts throughout the execution lifecycle.