CVE-2023-48495 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 versions 6.5.18 and earlier contain a critical cross-site scripting vulnerability categorized as DOM-based XSS that poses significant security risks to organizations relying on this content management platform. This vulnerability resides in the web application's handling of user-supplied input within the DOM context, creating an attack vector where malicious scripts can be injected and executed without server-side processing involvement. The flaw specifically affects the way the application processes and renders user input in client-side JavaScript contexts, making it particularly dangerous as it operates entirely within the browser environment rather than through traditional server-side injection methods.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization mechanisms within the AEM interface. When users navigate to specific URLs that contain malicious payloads, the application fails to properly escape or filter user-provided parameters before incorporating them into dynamic JavaScript execution contexts. This allows attackers to craft URLs that, when visited by unsuspecting victims, trigger the execution of malicious JavaScript code within the victim's browser session. The DOM-based nature of this vulnerability means that the attack occurs entirely within the client-side DOM manipulation, bypassing traditional server-side security controls and making it particularly challenging to detect and prevent through conventional means.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities within the victim's browser session. Low-privileged attackers can leverage this vulnerability to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of users, redirect victims to malicious sites, or even escalate privileges within the application if the victim has elevated permissions. The attack requires social engineering to convince victims to visit the malicious URL, but once executed, it can compromise user sessions, access sensitive data, and potentially provide attackers with access to restricted administrative functions within the AEM environment. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-79 which describes Cross-site Scripting flaws, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1531 which covers "Modify Application Runtime Environment" and T1059.007 which covers "Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript".
Organizations utilizing affected AEM versions should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to patched versions of Adobe Experience Manager, implementing strict input validation and sanitization measures, and deploying Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution contexts. Browser-based security controls such as CSP policies should be configured to restrict the sources from which scripts can be loaded, while application-level defenses should include comprehensive input filtering and output encoding mechanisms. Additionally, security awareness training for users can help reduce the success rate of social engineering attacks that exploit this vulnerability, and network monitoring should be enhanced to detect suspicious URL patterns that may indicate attempts to exploit this vulnerability. The remediation process should also include thorough testing of patched versions to ensure that the security fixes do not introduce compatibility issues with existing AEM functionality while maintaining the integrity of the application's core features and user experience.