CVE-2023-22259 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 03/22/2023
Experience Manager versions 6.5.15.0 (and earlier) are affected by a URL Redirection to Untrusted Site ('Open Redirect') vulnerability. A low-privilege authenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to redirect users to malicious websites. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/28/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-22259 affects Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.15.0 and earlier, presenting a critical open redirect flaw that enables malicious actors to manipulate user navigation through carefully crafted URLs. This issue resides within the application's handling of redirect parameters, where insufficient validation allows attackers to insert arbitrary URLs that will be executed during user interactions. The vulnerability specifically targets the authentication flow and navigation mechanisms within the Experience Manager platform, creating a pathway for social engineering attacks that can deceive users into visiting malicious domains. The flaw operates by accepting user-supplied redirect URLs without proper sanitization or validation, allowing attackers to construct URLs that appear legitimate but ultimately redirect users to attacker-controlled websites. This creates a significant risk for organizations using older versions of Experience Manager, as the vulnerability can be exploited through various attack vectors including phishing campaigns, malicious links in emails, or compromised web pages that contain the crafted redirect URLs.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the redirect functionality of Experience Manager's web application. When users navigate to certain pages or perform specific actions, the system processes redirect parameters that should normally validate against a whitelist of approved domains or URLs. However, the system fails to properly sanitize or validate these parameters, allowing arbitrary URLs to be processed and executed. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically affects the HTTP redirect mechanisms used by the platform's authentication and navigation systems. Attackers can leverage this weakness by crafting URLs containing malicious redirect parameters that will be interpreted by the vulnerable system, leading to unauthorized redirection of users to phishing sites, malware distribution platforms, or other malicious domains. The flaw demonstrates a classic lack of proper parameter validation and input sanitization, which falls under the CWE-601 vulnerability category related to open redirect flaws. This weakness represents a fundamental breakdown in the application's security controls, as it allows attackers to bypass normal access controls and manipulate user behavior through deceptive navigation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple redirection attacks, as it enables sophisticated social engineering campaigns that can compromise user credentials and system integrity. Attackers can craft convincing phishing URLs that appear to originate from legitimate Experience Manager interfaces, making it difficult for users to distinguish between genuine and malicious redirects. The requirement for user interaction means that successful exploitation depends on social engineering tactics, but this also makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can be combined with other attack vectors to create multi-stage compromises. Organizations using affected versions of Experience Manager face increased risk of credential theft, data exfiltration, and system compromise through these deceptive redirect mechanisms. The vulnerability can be exploited to redirect users to sites that perform credential harvesting, deploy malware, or conduct further reconnaissance activities against the organization's infrastructure. Additionally, the attack surface is broad as the vulnerability can be triggered through various user actions including login flows, content navigation, and administrative functions, making it challenging to fully mitigate without comprehensive patching or compensating controls.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-22259 should prioritize immediate patching of affected Experience Manager installations to version 6.5.15.1 or later, which includes the necessary security fixes for the open redirect vulnerability. Organizations should implement network-level controls including web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious redirect patterns, particularly those containing external domains or unusual URL structures. The implementation of strict URL validation and whitelisting mechanisms within the application configuration can provide additional protection layers, ensuring that only predetermined domains or paths are allowed in redirect parameters. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive user awareness training to help identify potentially malicious redirects and understand the risks associated with clicking on unfamiliar links. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual redirect patterns and anomalous user behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should review and strengthen their authentication mechanisms, implement additional verification steps for sensitive operations, and consider deploying session management controls that can detect and prevent unauthorized redirection attempts. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1566.001 (Phishing) highlights the importance of implementing comprehensive email security controls and user education programs to reduce the likelihood of successful exploitation through social engineering approaches. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other applications and ensure that proper input validation and sanitization controls are in place across the entire application portfolio.