XWiki Commons missing escaping of `{` in Velocity escapetool allows remote code execution
Impact
The HTML escaping of escaping tool that is used in XWiki doesn't escape {, which, when used in certain places, allows XWiki syntax injection and thereby remote code execution.
To reproduce in an XWiki installation, open <xwiki-host>/xwiki/bin/view/Panels/PanelLayoutUpdate?place=%7B%7B%2Fhtml%7D%7D%7B%7Basync%20async%3Dfalse%7D%7D%7B%7Bvelocity%7D%7D%23evaluate(%24request.eval)%7B%7B%2Fvelocity%7D%7D%7B%7B%2Fasync%7D%7D&eval=Hello%20from%20URL%20Parameter!%20I%20got%20programming%3A%20%24services.security.authorization.hasAccess(%27programming%27) where <xwiki-host> is the URL of your XWiki installation. If this displays You are not admin on this place Hello from URL Parameter! I got programming: true, the installation is vulnerable.
Patches
The vulnerability has been fixed on XWiki 14.10.19, 15.5.5, and 15.9 RC1.
Workarounds
Apart from upgrading, there is no generic workaround. However, replacing $escapetool.html by $escapetool.xml in XWiki documents fixes the vulnerability. In a standard XWiki installation, we're only aware of the document Panels.PanelLayoutUpdate that exposes this vulnerability, patching this document is thus a workaround. Any extension could expose this vulnerability and might thus require patching, too.
References
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-velocity | >= 3.0.1, < 14.10.19, >= 15.0-rc-1, < 15.5.4, >= 15.6-rc-1, < 15.9-rc-1 | 14.10.19, 15.5.4, 15.9-rc-1 |
References
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-commons/security/advisories/GHSA-hf43-47q4-fhq5
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-31996
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-commons/commit/b0805160ec7b01ee12417e79cb384e60ae4817aa
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-commons/commit/b94142e2a66ec32e89eacab67c3da8d91f5ef93a
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-commons/commit/ed7ff515a2436a1c6dcbd0c6ca0c41e434d58915
- https://github.com/xwiki/xwiki-commons
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XCOMMONS-2828
- https://jira.xwiki.org/browse/XWIKI-21438
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-94, CWE-95- Platform
- Java / Kotlin (Maven)
- Package
org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-velocity- Disclosed
- 10.04.2024
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 13:20
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-hf43-47q4-fhq5 - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: org.xwiki.commons:xwiki-commons-velocity
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Java / Kotlin (Maven)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 2
- First → latest
- 04.2022 04.2024
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 1
- High 1
Disclosures per year
- 2022: 1
- 2023: 0
- 2024: 1
- 2025: 0
- 2026: 0
-
XWiki Commons missing escaping of `{` in Velocity escapetool allows remote code execution this entry
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