CVE-2023-48494 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 12/15/2023
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.18 and earlier are affected by a Cross-site Scripting (DOM-based 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 • 01/04/2024
Adobe Experience Manager serves as a comprehensive content management platform that enables organizations to create, manage, and deliver digital experiences across multiple channels. The platform's architecture includes various administrative interfaces and content editing capabilities that are accessible through web-based user interfaces. This vulnerability specifically affects the DOM-based cross-site scripting flaw present in versions 6.5.18 and earlier of the software. The vulnerability arises from insufficient input validation and sanitization within the application's client-side processing mechanisms, where user-supplied parameters are directly incorporated into the DOM without proper escaping or encoding.
The technical nature of this DOM-based XSS vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly sanitize or validate user-controllable input that flows into the Document Object Model. When a user visits a maliciously crafted URL containing harmful JavaScript code, the vulnerability allows the malicious script to execute within the victim's browser context. This occurs because the application's JavaScript code does not adequately escape or validate parameters passed through URL query strings or other client-side input mechanisms. The flaw enables attackers to inject malicious scripts that can manipulate the DOM, steal session cookies, or perform actions on behalf of the authenticated user. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be exploited through social engineering techniques, where attackers convince victims to click on malicious links.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can potentially allow attackers to escalate privileges, access sensitive administrative functions, or exfiltrate confidential data. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to perform actions such as modifying content, accessing restricted administrative interfaces, or stealing user sessions. The low-privileged nature of the attacker requirement means that even users with minimal permissions could potentially exploit this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to the system. The vulnerability is particularly concerning for organizations that rely heavily on Adobe Experience Manager for content management, as it could provide attackers with access to sensitive corporate information or the ability to manipulate digital content. This type of vulnerability also enables potential data exfiltration attacks where malicious scripts could collect and transmit sensitive information from the victim's browser to external attacker-controlled servers.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to Adobe Experience Manager version 6.5.19 or later, which contains patches for this vulnerability. Additionally, implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms can help prevent similar issues in the future. Network-based mitigations such as web application firewalls and URL filtering can provide additional protection layers. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive testing to identify any other potential DOM-based XSS vulnerabilities within their Adobe Experience Manager implementations. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a technique that could be categorized under ATT&CK tactic TA0001 (Initial Access) through malicious links and TA0002 (Execution) through script execution. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities across the organization's web applications.