CVE-2023-21615 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 03/22/2023
Experience Manager versions 6.5.15.0 (and earlier) are affected by a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability. If a low-privileged 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 • 09/22/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-21615 represents a critical reflected cross-site scripting flaw within Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.15.0 and earlier. This security weakness exists in the web application's handling of user-supplied input parameters that are subsequently reflected back to users without proper sanitization or encoding. The flaw specifically affects the application's response to HTTP requests where input values are directly incorporated into HTTP responses without adequate security controls. The vulnerability stems from the application's failure to implement proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms for dynamic content generation, creating an environment where malicious payloads can be injected and executed within the victim's browser context.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows attackers to craft malicious URLs containing specially crafted script payloads that, when executed, can perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. The reflected nature of this vulnerability means that the malicious script is reflected from the web server back to the victim's browser, typically through a URL parameter or form field. This creates a scenario where an attacker must successfully trick a victim into visiting a maliciously crafted URL, but once executed, the payload can leverage the victim's existing authentication context within the application. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 as a weakness in input validation and output encoding, specifically dealing with reflected cross-site scripting attacks. This weakness is particularly dangerous because it can be exploited through social engineering techniques where attackers manipulate victims into clicking malicious links, often through phishing campaigns or compromised websites.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-21615 extends beyond simple data theft or session hijacking, as it can enable attackers to perform arbitrary actions within the application's context. A successful exploitation could allow an attacker to modify content, access sensitive data, manipulate user sessions, or even escalate privileges within the application's security boundaries. The vulnerability affects low-privileged attackers who can leverage this flaw to gain unauthorized access to restricted areas of the application, potentially leading to data breaches or complete system compromise. Given that Experience Manager is commonly used for content management and digital experience platforms, the impact could be severe for organizations relying on these systems for customer-facing applications, marketing automation, or enterprise content delivery. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 which covers social engineering through spearphishing with a link, making it particularly concerning for organizations with less sophisticated user security awareness programs.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including input validation and output encoding controls for all user-supplied parameters, proper HTTP response headers to prevent script execution, and comprehensive application security testing to identify similar vulnerabilities. The recommended approach includes deploying web application firewalls with XSS detection capabilities, implementing content security policies, and conducting regular security assessments of all application components. Adobe has released patches and updates for this vulnerability, and organizations should prioritize upgrading to versions that contain the necessary security fixes. Additionally, implementing proper security awareness training for users can help mitigate the social engineering aspects of exploitation, while monitoring for suspicious URL patterns and user behavior can provide early detection of potential attacks. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation and output encoding in web application security, emphasizing the need for comprehensive security controls throughout the application development lifecycle.