CVE-2023-48508 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 enables organizations to create, manage, and deliver digital content across multiple channels. The platform serves as a central hub for content management, personalization, and digital asset handling, making it a critical component in enterprise digital infrastructure. Given its widespread adoption across various industries including finance, healthcare, and government sectors, vulnerabilities within AEM can have substantial operational and security implications for organizations relying on its services.
The stored cross-site scripting vulnerability in Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.18 and earlier stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the platform's form processing components. This flaw specifically affects form fields that accept user input and subsequently store this data within the system's database or content repository. When the stored data is later rendered in web pages, the malicious JavaScript code becomes executable within the victim's browser context without proper sanitization or encoding of the stored content. The vulnerability operates as a classic stored XSS attack vector where the malicious payload is persistently injected into the application's data storage and executed during subsequent page rendering operations.
Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can leverage the low privilege requirements to inject malicious scripts that can perform various harmful actions against authenticated users. The malicious JavaScript code can potentially steal session cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of victims, or even establish persistent backdoors within the affected environment. Since the vulnerability affects form fields that are likely used for user feedback, contact forms, or content submission processes, the attack surface remains broad and accessible to threat actors with minimal privileges. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that once injected, the malicious code remains active until manually removed from the system, potentially affecting multiple users over extended periods.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond immediate exploitation as it represents a significant degradation in the security posture of affected organizations. Organizations using vulnerable AEM versions face potential data breaches, unauthorized access to sensitive content, and possible compromise of user sessions. The vulnerability's persistence means that cleanup operations require thorough database scanning and manual removal of malicious payloads, adding significant operational overhead. Additionally, organizations may face compliance violations and regulatory scrutiny if user data becomes compromised through this vulnerability. The attack vector's accessibility to low-privileged users also increases the potential for insider threats and makes the vulnerability particularly concerning for organizations with less stringent access controls.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading to Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.19 or later, which contain the necessary security patches addressing this vulnerability. The patch addresses the input validation and output encoding issues by implementing stricter sanitization processes for form field data and ensuring proper HTML encoding of stored content before rendering. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of affected AEM installations and implement monitoring solutions to detect potential exploitation attempts. Additional mitigations include implementing web application firewalls to filter suspicious input patterns, establishing stricter access controls for form submission endpoints, and conducting regular security audits of content management processes. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a technique commonly referenced in ATT&CK framework under T1531 for credential access through web application vulnerabilities. Organizations should also consider implementing content security policies to further reduce the impact of potential exploitation and establish incident response procedures to address potential compromise scenarios.