CVE-2021-28627 in Experience Manager Cloud Service
Summary
by MITRE • 08/25/2021
Adobe Experience Manager Cloud Service offering, as well as versions 6.5.8.0 (and below) is affected by a Server-side Request Forgery. An authenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to contact systems blocked by the dispatcher. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/19/2025
Adobe Experience Manager Cloud Service and versions 6.5.8.0 and below contain a server-side request forgery vulnerability that allows authenticated attackers to bypass dispatcher restrictions and access systems that should be blocked. This flaw resides in the way the platform handles HTTP requests, specifically when processing user-supplied input that gets forwarded to backend systems without proper validation or sanitization. The vulnerability enables attackers to make requests to internal services that are normally protected by network segmentation or firewall rules, effectively circumventing the security controls designed to isolate sensitive components.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation within the request processing pipeline of Adobe Experience Manager. When authenticated users submit requests that contain specific parameters or headers, the system forwards these requests to backend services without proper sanitization or destination validation. This creates an attack surface where malicious input can be used to redirect requests to internal IP addresses or services that are normally inaccessible from external networks. The flaw operates at the application layer where the dispatcher component fails to properly validate or restrict the destinations of forwarded requests, allowing attackers to leverage legitimate authentication mechanisms to access restricted resources.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it provides attackers with the ability to perform reconnaissance and potentially gain access to internal systems that should remain protected. An authenticated attacker can exploit this weakness to probe internal network services, potentially discovering additional vulnerabilities or sensitive information that would otherwise be hidden from external access. The vulnerability does not require user interaction, meaning that an attacker can leverage this flaw automatically without needing to trick users into performing specific actions, making it particularly dangerous in environments where authentication credentials might be compromised or where legitimate users have elevated privileges.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-918, which describes server-side request forgery vulnerabilities where applications fail to validate or restrict the destinations of forwarded requests. From an attack perspective, it maps to techniques described in the ATT&CK framework under T1071.004 for application layer protocol usage and T1046 for network service scanning. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to supported versions of Adobe Experience Manager where this vulnerability has been addressed, implementing additional validation controls within the dispatcher configuration, and monitoring for suspicious request patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Network segmentation controls should also be reviewed to ensure that even if this vulnerability is exploited, the blast radius remains limited through proper firewall and access control configurations.