CVE-2022-42366 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 12/16/2022
Adobe Experience Manager version 6.5.14 (and earlier) is affected by a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability. If an attacker is able to convince a victim to visit a URL referencing a vulnerable page, malicious JavaScript content may be executed within the context of the victim's browser.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/16/2022
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.14 and earlier contain a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability that represents a critical security risk for organizations relying on this content management platform. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting and specifically manifests as a reflected XSS flaw that allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code into web pages viewed by victims. The vulnerability occurs when the application fails to properly sanitize user input parameters before reflecting them back in HTTP responses without adequate output encoding or validation mechanisms.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires an attacker to craft a malicious URL that contains crafted script payloads and deliver it to a victim through social engineering techniques such as phishing emails, malicious links in chat applications, or compromised websites. When a victim clicks on the malicious link and the web application processes the request without proper input sanitization, the reflected payload executes within the victim's browser context with the privileges of the authenticated user. This creates a significant risk for organizations as the attacker can potentially steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of users, or redirect victims to malicious sites.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability exposes organizations to various attack vectors that can compromise user sessions and potentially lead to full system compromise. The reflected nature of the vulnerability means that attackers do not need to persist malicious code on the server itself, making detection more challenging. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to perform session hijacking, steal sensitive information, or manipulate user interfaces to trick victims into performing unintended actions. The vulnerability affects the core functionality of Adobe Experience Manager, which is widely used for enterprise content management, making it an attractive target for threat actors seeking to exploit organizations with substantial digital presences.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including applying the latest security patches released by Adobe, implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms, and deploying web application firewalls to detect and block malicious payloads. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1531 for Account Access Removal and T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter, as attackers can use the reflected XSS to execute malicious commands and scripts within user browsers. Additional protective measures include implementing Content Security Policy headers, conducting regular security assessments of web applications, and providing security training to users to recognize phishing attempts and social engineering attacks. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation and output encoding in preventing cross-site scripting attacks, which remains one of the most prevalent web application security risks identified in industry security frameworks and standards.