CVE-2019-7953 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Experience Manager version 6.4 and ealier have a Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to Sensitive Information disclosure in the context of the current user.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/01/2023
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.4 and earlier contain a critical cross-site request forgery vulnerability that allows attackers to execute unauthorized actions within the context of authenticated users. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-352 category, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery flaws in web applications. The flaw exists due to insufficient validation of request origins and lack of proper anti-forgery token implementation in the application's authentication and authorization mechanisms.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability enables attackers to craft malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate users who have established sessions within the Adobe Experience Manager environment. When a victim with active privileges clicks on a malicious link or visits a compromised website, the browser automatically submits requests to the AEM instance without requiring additional user authentication. This occurs because the application fails to verify that requests are genuinely initiated by the authenticated user rather than being forged by an attacker. The vulnerability specifically affects the administrative and content management functions within AEM, potentially allowing unauthorized access to sensitive configuration data, user credentials, and content management interfaces.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it can result in unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information including user session tokens, administrative credentials, and system configuration details. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges, access restricted content management features, and potentially gain full administrative control over the AEM instance. The risk is particularly elevated in environments where AEM serves as a central content management platform for enterprise organizations, as the compromise of a single authenticated session could provide access to critical business data and digital assets. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1531 which focuses on 'Modify System Image' and T1078 which addresses 'Valid Accounts' as attackers can exploit legitimate user sessions to access sensitive information.
Organizations should immediately apply the security patches released by Adobe for AEM versions 6.4 and earlier to remediate this vulnerability. The patch addresses the missing anti-forgery token validation and implements proper request origin checking mechanisms. Additionally, network segmentation should be implemented to limit direct access to AEM administrative interfaces, and multi-factor authentication should be enforced for all administrative accounts. Regular security assessments should include testing for CSRF vulnerabilities in all web applications, particularly those handling sensitive user data or administrative functions. Monitoring for suspicious authentication patterns and unusual access attempts should be enabled to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of implementing robust anti-forgery mechanisms in web applications, as outlined in OWASP Top 10 2017 category A05 which specifically addresses Security Misconfiguration and the broader principles of secure application development practices.