CVE-2023-37912
XWiki Rendering's footnote macro vulnerable to privilege escalation via the footnote macro
XWiki Rendering is a generic Rendering system that converts textual input in a given syntax into another syntax. Prior to version 14.10.6 of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-core-rendering-macro-footnotes and org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotes and prior to version 15.1-rc-1 of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotes, the footnote macro executed its content in a potentially different context than the one in which it was defined. In particular in combination with the include macro, this allows privilege escalation from a simple user account in XWiki to programming rights and thus remote code execution, impacting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki installation. This vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and 15.1-rc-1. There is no workaround apart from upgrading to a fixed version of the footnote macro.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
10.0
XWiki Rendering's footnote macro vulnerable to privilege escalation via the footnote macro
XWiki Rendering is a generic Rendering system that converts textual input in a given syntax into another syntax. Prior to version 14.10.6 of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-core-rendering-macro-footnotes and org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotes and prior to version 15.1-rc-1 of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotes, the footnote macro executed its content in a potentially different context than the one in which it was defined. In particular in combination with the include macro, this allows privilege escalation from a simple user account in XWiki to programming rights and thus remote code execution, impacting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki installation. This vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and 15.1-rc-1. There is no workaround apart from upgrading to a fixed version of the footnote macro.
- Record
CVE-2023-37912- CVSS 3.1
- 10.0 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-270
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2023-2625
10.0
XWiki Rendering is a generic Rendering system that converts textual input in a given syntax into another syntax. Prior to version 14.10.6 of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-core-rendering-macro-footnotes and org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotes and prior to version 15.1-rc-1 of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotes, the footnote macro executed its content in a potentially different context than the one in which it was defined. In particular in combination with the include macro, this allows privilege escalation from a simple user account in XWiki to programming rights and thus remote code execution, impacting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki installation. This vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and 15.1-rc-1. There is no workaround apart from upgrading to a fixed version of the footnote macro.
- Record
EUVD-2023-2625- CVSS 3.1
- 10.0 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-35j5-m29r-xfq5
8.8
XWiki Rendering's footnote macro vulnerable to privilege escalation via the footnote macro
Impact
The footnote macro executed its content in a potentially different context than the one in which it was defined. In particular in combination with the include macro, this allows privilege escalation from a simple user account in XWiki to programming rights and thus remote code execution, impacting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki installation.
To reproduce, perform the following steps:
- Edit your user profile with the object editor and add an object of type DocumentSheetBinding with value XWiki.ClassSheet
- Edit your user profile with the wiki editor and add the syntax
{{footnote}}{{groovy}}println("Hello " + "from groovy!"){{/groovy}}{{/footnote}}
When the text "Hello from groovy!" is displayed at the bottom of the document, the installation is vulnerable. Instead, an error should be displayed.
Patches
This vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and 15.1-rc-1.
Workarounds
There is no workaround apart from upgrading to a fixed version of the footnote macro.
References
- Record
GHSA-35j5-m29r-xfq5- CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-270
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
9.9
XWiki Rendering is a generic Rendering system that converts textual input in a given syntax into another syntax. Prior to version 14.10.6 of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-core-rendering-macro-footnotes and org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotes and prior to version 15.1-rc-1 of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotes, the footnote macro executed its content in a potentially different context than the one in which it was defined. In particular in combination with the include macro, this allows privilege escalation from a simple user account in XWiki to programming rights and thus remote code execution, impacting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki installation. This vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and 15.1-rc-1. There is no workaround apart from upgrading to a fixed version of the footnote macro.
- Record
CVE-2023-37912- CVSS 3.1
- 9.9 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-270
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
9.9
XWiki Rendering's footnote macro vulnerable to privilege escalation via the footnote macro
XWiki Rendering is a generic Rendering system that converts textual input in a given syntax into another syntax. Prior to version 14.10.6 of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-core-rendering-macro-footnotes and org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotes and prior to version 15.1-rc-1 of org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotes, the footnote macro executed its content in a potentially different context than the one in which it was defined. In particular in combination with the include macro, this allows privilege escalation from a simple user account in XWiki to programming rights and thus remote code execution, impacting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki installation. This vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and 15.1-rc-1. There is no workaround apart from upgrading to a fixed version of the footnote macro.
- Record
CVE-2023-37912- CVSS 3.1
- 9.9 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-270
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-35j5-m29r-xfq5
8.8
XWiki Rendering's footnote macro vulnerable to privilege escalation via the footnote macro
Impact
The footnote macro executed its content in a potentially different context than the one in which it was defined. In particular in combination with the include macro, this allows privilege escalation from a simple user account in XWiki to programming rights and thus remote code execution, impacting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the whole XWiki installation.
To reproduce, perform the following steps:
- Edit your user profile with the object editor and add an object of type DocumentSheetBinding with value XWiki.ClassSheet
- Edit your user profile with the wiki editor and add the syntax
{{footnote}}{{groovy}}println("Hello " + "from groovy!"){{/groovy}}{{/footnote}}
When the text "Hello from groovy!" is displayed at the bottom of the document, the installation is vulnerable. Instead, an error should be displayed.
Patches
This vulnerability has been patched in XWiki 14.10.6 and 15.1-rc-1.
Workarounds
There is no workaround apart from upgrading to a fixed version of the footnote macro.
References
- Record
GHSA-35j5-m29r-xfq5- CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-270
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotesMaven |
before 14.10.6 | 14.10.6 |
org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotesMaven |
15.0-rc-1 up to 15.1-rc-1 | 15.1-rc-1 |
org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-core-rendering-macro-footnotesMaven |
before 14.10.6 | 14.10.6 |
org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotesMaven |
before 14.10.6, plus listed versions 10.010.110.1-rc-110.1010.10-rc-1 Show 45 moreShow less10.1110.11-rc-110.11.110.11.1010.11.1110.11.210.11.310.11.410.11.510.11.610.11.710.11.810.11.910.210.310.410.4-rc-110.510.5-rc-110.610.6-rc-110.6.110.710.7-rc-110.7.110.810.8-rc-110.8.110.8.210.8.310.911.011.0.111.0.211.0.311.111.1-rc-111.1011.10.111.10.1011.10.1111.10.1211.10.1311.10.211.10.3 |
14.10.6 |
org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotesMaven |
15.0-rc-1 up to 15.1-rc-1, plus listed versions 15.0 |
15.1-rc-1 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2023-37912 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 10.0) in Xwiki Xwiki-rendering, published October 25, 2023. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.45%, the 73rd percentile. Fixed in org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotes 14.10.6.
References
github.com/xwiki/xwiki-rendering/security/advisories/GHSA-35j5-m29r-xfq5
github.com/xwiki/xwiki-rendering/commit/5f558b8fac8b716d19999225f38cb8ed0814116e
jira.xwiki.org/browse/XRENDERING-688
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-37912
github.com/advisories/GHSA-35j5-m29r-xfq5
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2023/37xxx/CVE-2023-37912.json
github.com/xwiki/xwiki-rendering
Left out here: 354 versions. The JSON record has them.