CVE-2023-48499 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 12/15/2023
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.18 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 • 01/04/2024
Adobe Experience Manager presents a critical reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability that affects versions 6.5.18 and earlier, creating a significant attack surface for malicious actors seeking to compromise user sessions and execute unauthorized code within victim browsers. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, specifically manifesting as reflected XSS where malicious input is immediately reflected back to the user without proper sanitization or encoding. The flaw exists in the application's handling of user-supplied input within URL parameters or request attributes, allowing attackers to inject malicious JavaScript payloads that execute in the context of authenticated user sessions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it enables attackers to perform session hijacking, data theft, and privilege escalation attacks against low-privileged users who may have access to sensitive administrative functions within the AEM environment. When victims navigate to crafted URLs containing malicious payloads, the reflected JavaScript executes within their browser context, potentially allowing attackers to steal session cookies, modify page content, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform actions on behalf of the authenticated user. This vulnerability particularly affects the AEM authoring environment where users may have elevated privileges for content management and system configuration.
From an attack perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through spearphishing with a link, and T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter through JavaScript execution. The attack chain typically begins with an attacker crafting a malicious URL containing a JavaScript payload designed to exploit the reflected XSS vulnerability, then delivering this URL to a victim through phishing emails, social engineering, or compromised web pages. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by AEM's role in content management and user authentication, making it a prime target for attackers seeking persistent access to enterprise content management systems. Organizations running affected AEM versions face potential data breaches, unauthorized content manipulation, and compromised user credentials when this vulnerability is exploited.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching of affected AEM versions to 6.5.19 or later, which contain the necessary security fixes for this reflected XSS vulnerability. Network segmentation and web application firewalls should be implemented to monitor and filter malicious requests, while input validation and output encoding should be enforced throughout the application's request handling pipeline. Security headers including Content Security Policy should be configured to prevent script execution from unauthorized sources, and regular security assessments should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in custom AEM extensions or third-party components. Additionally, user education regarding suspicious URL handling and phishing awareness programs should be implemented to reduce successful exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and proper input sanitization in enterprise content management systems, as reflected XSS issues can quickly escalate to full system compromise when exploited by determined attackers.