CVE-2023-48504 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 12/15/2023
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.18 and earlier are affected by a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability that could be abused by a low-privileged attacker to inject malicious scripts into vulnerable form fields. Malicious JavaScript may be executed in a victim’s browser when they browse to the page containing the vulnerable field.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/05/2024
Adobe Experience Manager represents a comprehensive digital experience platform that serves as a cornerstone for enterprise content management and digital marketing solutions. The platform's widespread adoption across organizations makes it a prime target for cyber adversaries seeking to exploit vulnerabilities that could compromise user sessions and data integrity. This particular vulnerability affects the foundational components of AEM's form handling mechanisms, specifically targeting the storage and rendering of user input within form fields. The flaw exists in how the system processes and stores user-supplied data, creating a persistent vector for malicious code injection that can persist across multiple user sessions and page views.
The technical implementation of this stored XSS vulnerability stems from inadequate input sanitization and output encoding within the form field processing pipeline. When users submit data through AEM forms, the system fails to properly validate and escape special characters that could be interpreted as executable JavaScript code. This vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically affects the server-side processing of form submissions, where user input flows directly into the HTML rendering context without proper contextual escaping. The low privilege requirement means that even users with minimal access rights can exploit this flaw, making it particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged by insiders or compromised accounts. The vulnerability manifests when malicious scripts are stored in form fields and subsequently rendered to other users who view the affected pages, creating a persistent attack vector that can compromise multiple victims over time.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, potentially enabling attackers to perform session hijacking, data exfiltration, and credential theft. When victims browse pages containing the maliciously injected scripts, their browsers execute the JavaScript code within the context of their authenticated sessions, providing attackers with elevated privileges and access to sensitive information. The stored nature of this vulnerability means that the malicious payload persists in the application's database, making it particularly challenging to detect and remediate. Attackers can craft sophisticated payloads that exploit the victim's browser context, potentially stealing cookies, redirecting users to malicious sites, or even installing additional malware. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and can be leveraged as a stepping stone for further attacks within the organization's network infrastructure, particularly when AEM systems are integrated with other enterprise applications.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate input validation and output encoding improvements within the AEM platform. Organizations should implement comprehensive content security policies that enforce strict sanitization of user input and ensure proper HTML encoding of all dynamic content. The recommended approach includes upgrading to Adobe Experience Manager version 6.5.19 or later, which contains patches addressing this specific vulnerability. Security teams should also implement web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious script injection patterns, along with regular security scanning of form fields and user-generated content. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough code reviews focusing on input validation routines and implement automated testing that specifically targets XSS vulnerabilities in form handling components. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a significant concern from the ATT&CK framework perspective under the T1059.007 technique for command and script injection, specifically targeting the application layer to establish persistent access through user interaction.