CVE-2023-48542 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 • 01/06/2024
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.18 and earlier contain a critical stored cross-site scripting vulnerability that represents a significant security risk for organizations relying on this content management platform. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting and operates as a stored XSS flaw, meaning that malicious payloads are permanently stored on the server and executed whenever users access the affected content. The vulnerability specifically targets form fields within the AEM interface, creating an attack vector that can be exploited by low-privileged users who may not have extensive administrative privileges.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the AEM form processing components. When users submit data through vulnerable form fields, the system fails to properly sanitize or escape the input before storing it in the database or rendering it in subsequent web pages. This allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code that persists in the system and executes in the context of other users' browsers when they view the affected content. The stored nature of this vulnerability means that the malicious script remains active even after the initial injection, creating a persistent threat that can affect multiple users over time.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, data exfiltration, and privilege escalation within the AEM environment. Attackers could potentially leverage this vulnerability to escalate their privileges, access restricted content, or manipulate the CMS to serve malicious content to other users. The low-privileged nature of the attack vector makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it requires minimal permissions to exploit, potentially allowing any authenticated user to compromise the system. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter, where adversaries can execute malicious code through web-based interfaces.
Organizations utilizing Adobe Experience Manager must implement immediate mitigations to address this vulnerability, including applying the latest security patches from Adobe, implementing robust input validation measures, and deploying web application firewalls to detect and block malicious payloads. The remediation strategy should focus on strengthening the sanitization of user inputs and ensuring proper output encoding in all form processing components. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough security assessments of their AEM implementations to identify other potential attack vectors and ensure that access controls are properly configured to limit user privileges. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security practices and implementing defense-in-depth strategies to protect web applications from persistent threats.