CVE-2023-40177 | XWiki Platform privilege escalation (PR) from account through AWM content fields

XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform offering runtime services for applications built on top of it. Any registered user can use the content field of their user profile page to execute arbitrary scripts with programming rights, thus effectively performing rights escalation. This issue is present since version 4.3M2 when AppWithinMinutes Application added support for the Content field, allowing any wiki page (including the user profile page) to use its content as an AWM Content field, which has a custom displayer that executes the content with the rights of the ``AppWithinMinutes.Content`` author, rather than the rights of the content author. The vulnerability has been fixed in XWiki 14.10.5 and 15.1RC1. The fix is in the content of the AppWithinMinutes.Content page that defines the custom displayer. By using the ``display`` script service to render the content we make sure that the proper author is used for access rights checks.

Published: 2023-08-23 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-40177 is rated Moderate Risk (63.8/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 2.11%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-40177

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-11-21 46.52% 2.11% -44.41%
2 2025-11-18 2.11% 46.52% +44.41%
3 2025-04-15 — 2.11% —

Full EPSS history (8 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-40177

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.9 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 3.1 6.0 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-40177

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2023-40177

GHSA-5mf8-v43w-mfxp · Severity: critical · Ecosystem: maven — XWiki Platform privilege escalation (PR) from account through AWM content fields

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-40177

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
xwiki xwiki >= 4.3.1, < 14.10.5 cpe:2.3:a:xwiki:xwiki:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
xwiki xwiki 4.3 cpe:2.3:a:xwiki:xwiki:4.3:milestone2:*:*:*:*:*:*
xwiki xwiki 15.0 cpe:2.3:a:xwiki:xwiki:15.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
xwiki xwiki 15.0 cpe:2.3:a:xwiki:xwiki:15.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-40177

cvelogic Threat Intelligence