CVE-2023-48543 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 presents a critical stored cross-site scripting vulnerability in versions 6.5.18 and earlier, allowing low-privileged attackers to inject malicious scripts into form fields that persist in the application's database. This vulnerability resides in the content management system's handling of user input within form elements, specifically affecting the sanitization and validation mechanisms that should prevent malicious code execution. The flaw enables attackers to craft payloads that execute in the context of other users' browsers when they interact with pages containing the compromised form fields, creating a persistent threat vector that can affect multiple victims over time.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the application's failure to properly sanitize user-supplied input before storing it in the database and subsequently rendering it in web pages. When users submit data through forms within AEM, the system should validate and sanitize the input to prevent script injection, but in affected versions this sanitization process is insufficient or bypassable. The vulnerability manifests when attackers submit malicious JavaScript code through form fields that are later displayed without proper escaping or encoding, allowing the code to execute in the victim's browser context. This stored nature of the vulnerability means that the malicious payload persists even after the initial injection, making it particularly dangerous as it can affect multiple users over extended periods.
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 application's context. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to establish persistent access to user sessions, potentially gaining administrative privileges or accessing sensitive content management data. The low privilege requirement for exploitation makes this vulnerability particularly concerning as it can be exploited by users with minimal access rights, potentially allowing attackers to escalate their privileges through chained attacks or by targeting other system components. This vulnerability directly violates security principles outlined in CWE-79, which addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications.
Organizations utilizing Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.18 and earlier should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to patched versions, implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms, and deploying web application firewalls to detect and block malicious payloads. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1531 for credential access and T1059 for command and scripting interpreter, as attackers can use the XSS to execute malicious scripts that may lead to further compromise. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments of all form-based input fields within the application, implement proper content security policies, and establish monitoring for suspicious input patterns. The remediation process should include thorough testing to ensure that all user input is properly sanitized and that the application's output encoding mechanisms function correctly to prevent script execution in browser contexts.