Detect CVE-2026-44179: XWiki Pro Macros RCE via Excerpt-Include Macro in Elastic Security
Detects exploitation of CVE-2026-44179, a critical remote code execution vulnerability in com.xwiki.pro:xwiki-pro-macros versions >= 1.13 and < 1.14.5. The vulnerability (CWE-95: Improper Neutralization of Directives in Dynamically Evaluated Code) allows unauthenticated or low-privileged attackers to execute arbitrary code on the server by injecting malicious Groovy/Velocity script expressions into XWiki page titles or content that are subsequently processed by the excerpt-include macro. A public proof-of-concept is available.
MITRE ATT&CK
Elastic Detection Query
sequence by host.name with maxspan=5m
[process where event.type == "start"
and (process.parent.name : ("java", "java.exe") or process.parent.executable : ("*/xwiki/*", "*\\xwiki\\*"))
and process.name : ("bash", "sh", "dash", "zsh", "cmd.exe", "powershell.exe", "whoami", "id", "curl", "wget", "nc", "ncat", "python*", "perl", "ruby")
] by process.parent.pid
[any where event.category : ("network", "file")
and (
(event.category == "network" and destination.port in (4444, 1337, 9001, 8888) and network.direction == "egress")
or
(event.category == "file" and event.type == "creation" and file.path : ("*/xwiki-data/*", "*/XWiki/*", "*xwiki*"))
)
] by process.pidEQL sequence rule correlating suspicious child process spawning from XWiki JVM with subsequent network or file activity, strongly indicative of CVE-2026-44179 exploitation via Groovy/Velocity SSTI through the excerpt-include macro.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Legitimate XWiki macros that call external processes for PDF rendering or office document conversion
- Java application management scripts that run alongside XWiki on the same host
- Security agents that spawn child processes from the Java service account
- Build or CI/CD processes that briefly run commands under the xwiki user
Other platforms for CVE-2026-44179
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 3 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1XWiki Excerpt-Include SSTI via Groovy Script Block
Expected signal: Process creation event showing java (or catalina) as parent process and a subprocess running 'id' or 'sh -c id'. Network logs may show the HTTP response containing the output of the id command.
- Test 2XWiki RCE Reverse Shell via Excerpt-Include Macro
Expected signal: Outbound TCP connection from the XWiki host JVM process to ATTACKER_IP:4444. Process tree shows java -> bash with interactive shell flags. Network flow records an established connection on port 4444.
- Test 3XWiki File Write via RCE to Establish Persistence
Expected signal: File creation event for /tmp/xwiki_rce_proof.txt with the Java/Tomcat process as the creator. Audit log (auditd or Sysmon for Linux) records a file open/write syscall from the java process.
Unlock Pro Content
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