XWiki Rendering's footnote macro vulnerable to privilege escalation via the footnote macro

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

8.8 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS

• CVE-2023-37912: 1.45% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 73.45 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

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: 1. Edit your user profile with the object editor and add an object of type DocumentSheetBinding with value XWiki.ClassSheet 2. 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…

Published by the source

25 Oct 2023, 21:07 UTC

Last modified by the source

10 Nov 2023, 05:04 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 16:17 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-35j5-m29r-xfq5

Preview the exact text before you copy it. Commands are read-only suggestions; review them before running anything.

# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2023-37912

Advisory: XWiki Rendering's footnote macro vulnerable to privilege escalation via the footnote macro
IDs: CVE-2023-37912, GHSA-35j5-m29r-xfq5
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2023-37912 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 16:17 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.8)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotes 15.1-rc-1, 14.10.6; org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-core-rendering-macro-footnotes 14.10.6. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Maven org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotes: affected < 14.10.6; >= 15.0-rc-1, < 15.1-rc-1; fixed in 14.10.6, 15.1-rc-1
- Maven org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-core-rendering-macro-footnotes: affected < 14.10.6; fixed in 14.10.6

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Maven org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotes: check the installed version with your package manager.
- Maven org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-core-rendering-macro-footnotes: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotes, org.xwiki.platform:xwiki-core-rendering-macro-footnotes.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-35j5-m29r-xfq5 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-35j5-m29r-xfq5 lists affected ranges: Maven org.xwiki.rendering:xwiki-rendering-macro-footnotes >=0 =15.0-rc-1 =0 <14.10.6)

Commands are suggestions: review each one before running it.