CVE-2025-55730: XWiki Remote Macros RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-55730 Overview

CVE-2025-55730 is a critical remote code execution vulnerability affecting XWiki Remote Macros, a component that provides rendering macros useful when migrating content from Confluence. The vulnerability stems from missing input escaping in the Confluence Paste Code macro, allowing attackers to inject malicious XWiki syntax and achieve arbitrary code execution on the affected system.

Starting in version 1.0 and prior to version 1.26.5, the title parameter in the confluence paste code macro is rendered without proper sanitization. The classes parameter is used without escaping in XWiki syntax, enabling syntax injection attacks. Any user with edit permissions on any page can exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code on the server.

Critical Impact

This vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote code execution via XWiki syntax injection, potentially leading to complete system compromise, data exfiltration, and lateral movement within the network.

Affected Products

• XWiki Remote Macros versions 1.0 through 1.26.4
• XWiki Pro Macros Confluence Bridges component
• XWiki installations utilizing the Confluence Paste Code macro functionality

Discovery Timeline

• September 9, 2025 - CVE-2025-55730 published to NVD
• September 11, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-55730

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-116 (Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output). The core issue resides in the ConfluencePasteCodeMacro.xml template file, where user-supplied input from the title parameter is directly embedded into the rendered output without proper escaping for XWiki syntax context.

When content is migrated from Confluence or when users interact with the paste code functionality, the macro processes the title field. Because this value is not sanitized, an attacker can craft a malicious payload containing XWiki syntax that will be interpreted and executed by the rendering engine. This transforms a seemingly benign content display feature into a powerful code execution vector.

The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires only basic page editing privileges—a permission typically granted to authenticated users in most XWiki deployments. The scope change indicated in the security assessment means that exploitation can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component itself.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper output encoding in the Velocity template handling the Confluence Paste Code macro. The $title variable was directly interpolated into the XWiki syntax output without being passed through the $services.rendering.escape() function. This allowed raw XWiki syntax characters and commands to be injected through the title field, which are then processed by the XWiki rendering engine with full execution privileges.

Attack Vector

The attack can be executed remotely over the network without requiring authentication in some configurations. An attacker needs to:

1. Identify an XWiki instance running a vulnerable version of XWiki Remote Macros
2. Gain access to edit any page (or exploit a misconfigured instance allowing anonymous edits)
3. Inject malicious XWiki syntax through the title parameter of the Confluence Paste Code macro
4. Trigger the rendering of the page to execute the injected code

The following patch demonstrates the fix applied to address this vulnerability:

   (% class="paste-code#if($withTitle) paste-code-with-title#end" %)(((\n     #if("$!title" != '')\n       (% class="paste-code-title" %)(((\n-        $title\n+        $services.rendering.escape($title, 'xwiki/2.1')\n       )))\n     #end\n     {{code language="$services.rendering.escape("$!language", $xwiki.currentContentSyntaxId)"}}

Source: GitHub Commit

The fix wraps the $title variable with $services.rendering.escape($title, 'xwiki/2.1'), ensuring all XWiki syntax characters are properly escaped before being rendered.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-55730

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or obfuscated content in page titles or macro parameters containing XWiki syntax constructs like {{/html}}, {{groovy}}, or {{velocity}}
• Unexpected Groovy or Velocity script execution in XWiki application logs
• Creation of new admin users or privilege escalation events correlated with page edit activities
• Web server logs showing requests to pages with suspiciously complex or encoded title parameters

Detection Strategies

• Implement log monitoring for XWiki rendering errors or exceptions that may indicate injection attempts
• Deploy web application firewall rules to detect XWiki syntax patterns in HTTP request parameters
• Monitor for abnormal process spawning from the XWiki application server process
• Review audit logs for unusual page creation or modification patterns targeting macro-enabled content

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging for XWiki macro processing and review logs for injection patterns
• Implement file integrity monitoring on the XWiki installation directory to detect unauthorized modifications
• Configure alerting for new user creation or privilege changes in the XWiki administration interface
• Monitor outbound network connections from the XWiki server for potential data exfiltration or reverse shell activity

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-55730

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade XWiki Remote Macros to version 1.26.5 or later immediately
• Review recent page edit history for suspicious macro usage or title modifications
• Audit user accounts for any unauthorized privilege escalations
• Consider temporarily disabling the Confluence Paste Code macro functionality until patching is complete

Patch Information

The vulnerability has been addressed in XWiki Remote Macros version 1.26.5. The fix ensures proper escaping of the title parameter using the $services.rendering.escape() function before rendering. The security patch is available in commit 049716df415aaf00938a91d618d382777820d2af.

For detailed information about the vulnerability and remediation, refer to the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-5w8v-h22g-j2mp and the XWiki JIRA Issue XWIKI-20449.

Workarounds

• Restrict page editing permissions to only trusted users until the patch can be applied
• Implement input validation at the web server or reverse proxy level to block requests containing XWiki syntax characters in macro parameters
• Disable or remove the Confluence Paste Code macro extension if Confluence migration functionality is not actively required
• Deploy network segmentation to limit the blast radius if exploitation occurs

# Check current XWiki Remote Macros version
grep -r "xwiki-pro-macros" /path/to/xwiki/WEB-INF/lib/ | head -5

# Verify the patched version is installed
ls -la /path/to/xwiki/WEB-INF/lib/ | grep "xwiki-pro-macros.*1.26.5"