CVE-2023-48525 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 • 01/05/2024
Adobe Experience Manager represents a comprehensive content management platform widely deployed across enterprise environments for digital experience management. The platform serves as a central hub for content creation, management, and delivery across multiple channels including web, mobile, and digital kiosks. Given its critical role in enterprise digital infrastructure, vulnerabilities within AEM can have significant operational and security implications. The platform's architecture includes various administrative interfaces, content editing tools, and integration points that expose potential attack vectors for malicious actors seeking to compromise enterprise environments.
The vulnerability in question manifests as a DOM-based cross-site scripting flaw within Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.18 and earlier. This specific weakness occurs when the application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input that is subsequently processed within the document object model of the browser. The vulnerability arises from insufficient validation and sanitization of parameters passed through URL query strings or other client-side input mechanisms. When a victim's browser processes a malicious URL containing crafted script payloads, the DOM-based XSS vulnerability allows the malicious JavaScript code to execute within the victim's browser context, potentially leveraging the user's authenticated session and privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it provides attackers with the capability to perform session hijacking, data exfiltration, and privilege escalation within the compromised user's context. Low-privileged attackers can leverage this vulnerability to gain access to sensitive administrative functions and content management capabilities that are typically restricted to higher-privileged users. The attack requires social engineering to convince victims to visit malicious URLs, but once successful, the attacker can potentially access confidential content, modify website elements, and compromise the integrity of the entire digital experience platform. This vulnerability particularly threatens organizations that rely heavily on AEM for content management and digital publishing operations.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation through official Adobe security patches and updates to address this vulnerability. The mitigation strategy should include implementing comprehensive input validation mechanisms and content security policies to prevent unauthorized script execution. Network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect and block suspicious URL patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, security awareness training for administrators and content creators can help prevent successful social engineering attacks that leverage this vulnerability. This remediation aligns with security best practices outlined in the CWE-79 category for cross-site scripting vulnerabilities and follows ATT&CK framework techniques related to client-side attacks and privilege escalation through web-based exploits. Organizations should also conduct thorough security assessments to identify other potential DOM-based XSS vulnerabilities within their web applications and implement robust security testing procedures including dynamic application security testing and manual code review processes.