CVE-2019-16469 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5, 6.4, 6.3, 6.2, 6.1, and 6.0 have an expression language injection vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to sensitive information disclosure.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/16/2020
Adobe Experience Manager suffers from a critical expression language injection vulnerability that affects multiple versions including 6.5, 6.4, 6.3, 6.2, 6.1, and 6.0. This vulnerability resides in the application's handling of user input within expression language contexts, creating an avenue for attackers to inject malicious expressions that can be evaluated by the system. The flaw enables unauthorized individuals to manipulate the expression evaluation engine through crafted input parameters, potentially allowing them to execute arbitrary code or access sensitive system information.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization within the expression language processing components of Adobe Experience Manager. When user-supplied data is directly incorporated into expression language constructs without proper sanitization, attackers can inject malicious expressions that bypass normal security controls. This issue falls under the CWE-94 category of Code Injection, specifically manifesting as Expression Language Injection, where attacker-controlled data is interpreted as executable code within the application's expression evaluation framework.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially enable full system compromise. Attackers could leverage this weakness to access sensitive configuration files, user credentials, database connection details, and other privileged information stored within the AEM environment. The vulnerability's presence across multiple versions indicates a fundamental flaw in the application's architecture that requires immediate attention. Security professionals should consider this issue in the context of the ATT&CK framework under the T1059.007 technique for Command and Scripting Interpreter, as exploitation could enable attackers to execute system commands through the expression language injection vector.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate patching of affected Adobe Experience Manager versions to the latest security releases provided by Adobe. Organizations should also implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of AEM systems to untrusted networks. Input validation should be strengthened at all entry points where user data is processed within expression language contexts, and proper sanitization techniques should be implemented to prevent malicious expressions from being evaluated. Additionally, monitoring and logging should be enhanced to detect suspicious expression language usage patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability represents a significant risk to organizations relying on AEM for content management and digital experience delivery, particularly in environments where sensitive data is processed or stored.