CVE-2023-22252 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.
Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/28/2025
This vulnerability exists in Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.15.0 and earlier, representing a critical reflected cross-site scripting flaw that allows attackers to execute malicious JavaScript code in the victim's browser context. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the application's web interface, specifically affecting pages that process user-supplied parameters without proper sanitization. Attackers can craft malicious URLs containing script payloads that, when clicked by unsuspecting users, get reflected back and executed in the victim's browser session, potentially leading to complete session hijacking or data exfiltration.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability follows standard XSS attack patterns where the malicious payload is embedded within URL parameters or request variables that are subsequently displayed on web pages without adequate encoding. This creates an environment where a low-privileged attacker can leverage social engineering tactics to convince victims to visit specifically crafted URLs, thereby executing arbitrary JavaScript code within the victim's browser context. The reflected nature of this vulnerability means that the malicious script is not stored on the server but rather injected through the request parameters and immediately reflected back to the user, making it particularly challenging to detect and prevent through traditional security measures.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities including session theft, credential harvesting, data manipulation, and redirection to malicious sites. An attacker with access to a low-privileged user account could potentially exploit this vulnerability to escalate privileges or gain access to sensitive information within the Experience Manager environment. The vulnerability affects the core web application functionality and represents a significant threat to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system, particularly in enterprise environments where Experience Manager is used for content management and digital experience delivery.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems to address this vulnerability, as the attack surface is broad and the impact can be severe. Security teams should implement additional defensive measures including web application firewalls, input validation rules, and output encoding controls to mitigate the risk while patches are deployed. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and follows attack patterns documented in the ATT&CK framework under technique T1566 for social engineering and T1071 for application layer protocol usage. Regular security assessments and user awareness training should be implemented to reduce the risk of successful exploitation, particularly focusing on identifying and preventing suspicious URL navigation patterns that could lead to XSS attack vectors.