CVE-2023-48519 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 content management platform widely deployed across enterprise environments for digital experience management and web content delivery. The platform serves as a central hub for creating, managing, and publishing digital content across multiple channels while providing robust user management and workflow capabilities. Organizations rely heavily on AEM for their digital presence, making it a critical component in their technology infrastructure. The vulnerability affects versions 6.5.18 and earlier, indicating a significant portion of deployed instances remain at risk. These versions incorporate various form handling mechanisms and content management features that process user inputs through web interfaces. The platform's architecture includes multiple layers of user authentication, content rendering, and form processing components that interact with user-submitted data.
The stored cross-site scripting vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding within the form field processing components of Adobe Experience Manager. Attackers can exploit this weakness by submitting malicious JavaScript code through vulnerable form fields that are subsequently stored within the platform's database or content repository. The vulnerability specifically targets the handling of user inputs in form fields, where the system fails to properly sanitize or encode special characters before rendering content. This allows malicious scripts to be permanently stored and executed whenever users interact with the affected pages containing the compromised form fields. The flaw exists in the server-side processing logic where input validation occurs too late in the processing pipeline or not at all, enabling the injection of potentially harmful code into the application's content flow.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it provides attackers with a persistent foothold within the affected environment. Low-privileged attackers can leverage this vulnerability to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, and data exfiltration from user browsers. The stored nature of the XSS vulnerability means that the malicious scripts remain active until manually removed, creating a persistent threat vector that can affect multiple users over extended periods. Users browsing pages containing the vulnerable form fields become victims of the attack, with their browser sessions potentially compromised. The vulnerability undermines the integrity of the entire content management system, as it allows attackers to inject malicious code that can target not only the specific form fields but potentially other parts of the application interface.
Security professionals should immediately implement comprehensive input validation measures to prevent malicious code injection into form fields. The primary mitigation strategy involves implementing strict sanitization of user inputs before storage, ensuring that all special characters are properly encoded or removed from submitted data. Organizations should also deploy content security policies that restrict script execution within the application environment and implement proper output encoding mechanisms for all user-generated content. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify additional potential entry points within the AEM environment. The implementation of web application firewalls can provide additional protection layers, while regular updates and patches should be applied to move beyond vulnerable versions. Organizations should also consider implementing user access controls and monitoring systems to detect unauthorized form modifications and potential exploitation attempts. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in software applications and represents a common attack pattern categorized under ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for credential access through phishing.