CVE-2023-36470: Code injection in icon themes of XWiki Platform
Impact By either creating a new or editing an existing document with an icon set, an attacker can inject XWiki syntax and Velocity code that is executed with programming rights and thus allows remote code execution. There are different attack vectors, the simplest is the Velocity code in the icon set's HTML or XWiki syntax definition. The icon picker can be used to trigger the rendering of any icon set. The XWiki syntax variant of the icon set is also used without any escaping in some documents, allowing to inject XWiki syntax including script macros into a document that might have programming right, for this the currently used icon theme needs to be edited. Further, the HTML output of the icon set is output as JSON in the icon picker and this JSON is interpreted as XWiki syntax, allowing again the injection of script macros into a document with programming right and thus allowing remote code execution. This impacts the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki instance.
Patches
This has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and 15.1. Icon themes now require script right and the code in the icon theme is executed within the context of the icon theme, preventing any rights escalation. A macro for displaying icons has been introduced to avoid injecting the raw wiki syntax of an icon set into another document.
Workarounds There are no workarounds apart from upgrading to a version containing the fix.
References
https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20524 https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/b0cdfd893912baaa053d106a92e39fa1858843c7 https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/46b542854978e9caa687a5c2b8817b8b17877d94 https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/79418dd92ca11941b46987ef881bf50424898ff4
Other sources
XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform offering runtime services for applications built on top of it. By either creating a new or editing an existing document with an icon set, an attacker can inject XWiki syntax and Velocity code that is executed with programming rights and thus allows remote code execution. There are different attack vectors, the simplest is the Velocity code in the icon set's HTML or XWiki syntax definition. The icon picker can be used to trigger the rendering of any icon set. The XWiki syntax variant of the icon set is also used without any escaping in some documents, allowing to inject XWiki syntax including script macros into a document that might have programming right, for this the currently used icon theme needs to be edited. Further, the HTML output of the icon set is output as JSON in the icon picker and this JSON is interpreted as XWiki syntax, allowing again the injection of script macros into a document with programming right and thus allowing remote code execution. This impacts the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki instance. This issue has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and 15.1. Icon themes now require script right and the code in the icon theme is executed within the context of the icon theme, preventing any rights escalation. A macro for displaying icons has been introduced to avoid injecting the raw wiki syntax of an icon set into another document. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.
— MITRE
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
maven/org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-uito a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 15.2-rc-1 - Upgrade
Upgrade
maven/org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-uito a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 14.10.6 - Upgrade
Upgrade
maven/org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-defaultto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 15.2-rc-1 - Upgrade
Upgrade
maven/org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-scriptto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 15.2-rc-1 - Upgrade
Upgrade
maven/org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-scriptto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 14.10.6 - Upgrade
Upgrade
maven/org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-platform-icon-defaultto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 14.10.6 - Upgrade
Upgrade
XWiki Platformto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 14.10.6 - Upgrade
Upgrade
XWiki Platformto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 15.1
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2023-36470?
The severity of CVE-2023-36470 is critical with a CVSS score of 8.8.
How does CVE-2023-36470 affect XWiki Platform?
CVE-2023-36470 affects XWiki Platform versions 6.2 through 14.10.6, as well as versions 15.0, 15.0-rc1, 15.1, and 15.1-rc1.
What is the CWE classification of CVE-2023-36470?
The CWE classification of CVE-2023-36470 is CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component).
How can an attacker exploit CVE-2023-36470?
An attacker can exploit CVE-2023-36470 by injecting XWiki syntax and Velocity code into a document with an icon set, allowing remote code execution.
Are there any available fixes for CVE-2023-36470?
Yes, fixes for CVE-2023-36470 are available in the following GitHub commits: [commit 1](https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/46b542854978e9caa687a5c2b8817b8b17877d94), [commit 2](https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/79418dd92ca11941b46987ef881bf50424898ff4), [commit 3](https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/b0cdfd893912baaa053d106a92e39fa1858843c7).