Evidence used
- No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
- EPSS is 0.48% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2021
CVE-2021-21379High confidence
It's possible to execute anything with the rights of the author of a macro which uses the {{wikimacrocontent}} macro
xwiki · xwiki-platform
Official source article: GitHub GHSA-V662-XPCC-9XF6 ↗. Check the applicable product and release in the original source.
7.7HighCVSS 3.1
Within 7 days
Fix not verifiedHigh technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityHigh→Operational priority:High, unchanged from published severity.unchanged
Compensating controls
- Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
- Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs xwiki xwiki-platform and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
Fix not verified01
What, why and how
XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform offering runtime services for applications built on top of it. In affected versions of XWiki Platform, the `{{wikimacrocontent}}` executes the content with the rights of the wiki macro author instead of the caller of that wiki macro. This makes possible to inject scripts through it and they will be executed with the rights of the wiki macro (very often a user which has Programming rights). Fortunately, no such macro exists by default in XWiki Standard but one could have been created or installed with an extension. This vulnerability has been patched in versions XWiki 12.6.3, 11.10.11 and 12.8-rc-1. There is no easy workaround other than disabling the affected macros. Inserting content in a safe way or knowing what is the user who called the wiki macro is not easy.
What
XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform offering runtime services for applications built on top of it. In affected versions of XWiki Platform, the `{{wikimacrocontent}}` executes the content with the rights of the wiki macro author instead of the caller of that wiki macro. This makes possible to inject scripts through it and they will be executed with the rights of the wiki macro (very often a user which has Programming rights). Fortunately, no such macro exists by default in XWiki Standard but one could have been created or installed with an extension. This vulnerability has been patched in versions XWiki 12.6.3, 11.10.11 and 12.8-rc-1. There is no easy workaround other than disabling the affected macros. Inserting content in a safe way or knowing what is the user who called the wiki macro is not easy.
Why
The product does not preserve permissions or incorrectly preserves permissions when copying, restoring, or sharing objects, which can cause them to have less restrictive permissions than intended.
How
An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
What
XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform offering runtime services for applications built on top of it. In affected versions of XWiki Platform, the `{{wikimacrocontent}}` executes the content with the rights of the wiki macro author instead of the caller of that wiki macro. This makes possible to inject scripts through it and they will be executed with the rights of the wiki macro (very often a user which has Programming rights). Fortunately, no such macro exists by default in XWiki Standard but one could have been created or installed with an extension. This vulnerability has been patched in versions XWiki 12.6.3, 11.10.11 and 12.8-rc-1. There is no easy workaround other than disabling the affected macros. Inserting content in a safe way or knowing what is the user who called the wiki macro is not easy.
Why
The product does not preserve permissions or incorrectly preserves permissions when copying, restoring, or sharing objects, which can cause them to have less restrictive permissions than intended.
How
An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation No confirmed evidence
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.
Public PoC / exploit material None recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.
- Likely attack path
- a network path → Improper Preservation of Permissions → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
- Attack surface
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low: a basic authenticated account is required
- User interaction
- Required interaction required
- Attack complexity
- High: exploitation depends on specific conditions
- Security boundary
- Changed: exploitation can affect a different security authority
- Weakness
?
CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness. - CWE-281 ↗
CWE-281: Improper Preservation of Permissions. The product does not preserve permissions or incorrectly preserves permissions when copying, restoring, or sharing objects, which can cause them to have less restrictive permissions than intended.
- CVSS vector
?
CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity. CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:NCommon Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACHighAttack complexity: Successful exploitation depends on specific conditions outside the attacker's direct control.PRLowPrivileges required: The attacker needs basic user-level privileges.UIRequiredUser interaction: Another user must perform an action for exploitation to succeed.SChangedScope: The attack can affect a component governed by a different security authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.ANoneAvailability impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.- Post-exploitation / living off the land
- No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
03
Patch and workaround
Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.
- Status
?
Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change. - Fix not verified
- Affected
- xwiki-platform: >= 11.4.0, < 11.10.11, >= 12.0.0, < 12.6.3, >= 12.7.0, < 12.8-rc-1
- Fixed
- No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
- Action
- No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
- Workaround
- No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 12 Mar 2021 · Last source change 3 Aug 2024, 18:09 UTC · CWE-281 · Improper Preservation of Permissions
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2021-0708
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment
Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
- CVE
- Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
- CVSS
- Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
- EPSS
- Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
- CWE
- Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
- CNA
- CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
- CISA ADP
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
- NVD
- National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
- CERT / CSIRT
- A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
- PoC
- Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
- CSAF
- Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
- LoTL
- Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.