🛡️ CVE-2023-36471 — commons
Description
org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml's HTML sanitizer allows form elements in restricted
Impact
The HTML sanitizer that is included in XWiki since version 14.6RC1 allowed form and input HTML tags. In the context of XWiki, this allows an attacker without script right to either create forms that can be used for phishing attacks or also in the context of a sheet, the attacker could add an input like {{html}}<input type="hidden" name="content" value="{{groovy}}println("Hello from Groovy!")" />{{/html}} that would allow remote code execution when it is submitted by an admin (the sheet is rendered as part of the edit form). The attacker would need to ensure that the edit form looks plausible, though, which can be non-trivial as without script right the attacker cannot display the regular content of the document.
Patches
This has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and 15.2RC1 by removing the central form-related tags from the list of allowed tags.
Workarounds
An admin can manually disallow the tags by adding form, input, select, textarea, button to the configuration option xml.htmlElementSanitizer.forbidTags in the xwiki.properties configuration file.
References
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XCOMMONS-2634
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-commons/commit/99484d48e899a68a1b6e33d457825b776c6fe8c3
How this vulnerability can be exploited
This issue can be reached over the network, attack complexity is low, an attacker needs low-level privileges on the target. A user must be tricked into taking some action. The scope is changed, meaning a successful attack can affect components beyond the vulnerable one. Rated impact: confidentiality high, integrity high, availability high.
Affected software
CVE-2023-36471 is recorded against 2 packages.
- commons
- org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml (from 15.0-rc-1 up to 15.2-rc-1)
Timeline and source
Published on 29 June 2023 and last revised on 17 June 2026. A public exploit is known to exist, which raises the urgency of patching considerably. A vendor advisory or fix has been published. Record sourced from NVD.
References
github.com
github.com
jira.xwiki.org
github.com
github.com
jira.xwiki.org
Details
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected Packages
| Software | From version | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| commons | — | — |
| org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-xml | 15.0-rc-1 | 15.2-rc-1 |
References
Similar Threats
- Unknown CLSA-2025-1754006614
- Unknown CLSA-2026-1775781177
- Unknown CLSA-2026-1776991051
- Unknown CLSA-2026-1777336746
- Unknown CLSA-2026-1779756520
More CVE 2023 advisories
Browse all of CVE 2023 in the advisory index.
Exploit Protection
Are you running commons?
CVE-2023-36471 carries CVSS 9.5 Critical rating and a public exploit already exists. BotEraser checks your installation against this and other known CVE records, and blocks IPs associated with exploit activity.
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