CVE-2023-48240: XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform. The rendered diff in XWiki embeds images to be able to compare the contents and not display a difference fo...

Description

XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform. The rendered diff in XWiki embeds images to be able to compare the contents and not display a difference for an actually unchanged image. For this, XWiki requests all embedded images on the server side. These requests are also sent for images from other domains and include all cookies that were sent in the original request to ensure that images with restricted view right can be compared. Starting in version 11.10.1 and prior to versions 14.10.15, 15.5.1, and 15.6, this allows an attacker to steal login and session cookies that allow impersonating the current user who views the diff. The attack can be triggered with an image that references the rendered diff, thus making it easy to trigger. Apart from stealing login cookies, this also allows server-side request forgery (the result of any successful request is returned in the image's source) and viewing protected content as once a resource is cached, it is returned for all users. As only successful requests are cached, the cache will be filled by the first user who is allowed to access the resource. This has been patched in XWiki 14.10.15, 15.5.1 and 15.6. The rendered diff now only downloads images from trusted domains. Further, cookies are only sent when the image's domain is the same the requested domain. The cache has been changed to be specific for each user. As a workaround, the image embedding feature can be disabled by deleting `xwiki-platform-diff-xml-<version>.jar` in `WEB-INF/lib/`.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

8.8/10

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

EPSS Probability

0.71%

48.8th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions	Update
Xwiki	Xwiki	>= 11.10.1, < 14.10.15	—
Xwiki	Xwiki	>= 15.0, < 15.5.1	—
Xwiki	Xwiki	15.6	Rc1

References

https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/bff0203e739b6e3eb90af5736f04278c73c2a8bbPatch
https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-7rfg-6273-f5wpVendor Advisory
https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20818Issue Tracking, Patch, Vendor Advisory
https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/commit/bff0203e739b6e3eb90af5736f04278c73c2a8bbPatch
https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-7rfg-6273-f5wpVendor Advisory
https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-20818Issue Tracking, Patch, Vendor Advisory

Timeline

Published: Nov 20, 2023
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-48240?

XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform. The rendered diff in XWiki embeds images to be able to compare the contents and not display a difference for an actually unchanged image. For this, XWiki requests all embedded images on the server side. These requests are also sent for images from other domains and include all cookies that were sent in the original request to ensure that images with restricted view right can be compared. Starting in version 11.10.1 and prior to versions 14.10.15, 15.5.1, and 15.6, this allows an attacker to steal login and session cookies that allow impersonating the current user who views the diff. The attack can be triggered with an image that references the rendered diff, thus making it easy to trigger. Apart from stealing login cookies, this also allows server-side request forgery (the result of any successful request is returned in the image's source) and viewing protected content as once a resource is cached, it is returned for all users. As only successful requests are cached, the cache will be filled by the first user who is allowed to access the resource. This has been patched in XWiki 14.10.15, 15.5.1 and 15.6. The rendered diff now only downloads images from trusted domains. Further, cookies are only sent when the image's domain is the same the requested domain. The cache has been changed to be specific for each user. As a workaround, the image embedding feature can be disabled by deleting `xwiki-platform-diff-xml-<version>.jar` in `WEB-INF/lib/`.

How severe is CVE-2023-48240?

CVE-2023-48240 has a CVSS score of 8.8/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.71% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2023-48240?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.