CVE-2023-48575 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 • 09/20/2025
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 prime target for cyber adversaries seeking to exploit vulnerabilities that could compromise user sessions and access sensitive data. The stored cross-site scripting vulnerability in AEM versions 6.5.18 and earlier presents a significant risk to organizations utilizing this platform for content management and user interaction.
The technical flaw manifests in the insufficient validation and sanitization of user input within form fields that are subsequently stored and rendered back to users. When low-privileged attackers submit malicious JavaScript code through vulnerable form fields, the platform fails to properly sanitize this input before storing it in the backend database. This stored data is then subsequently rendered in the user interface without adequate protection mechanisms, creating a classic stored XSS attack vector. The vulnerability specifically affects form fields that accept user-generated content, particularly those used in content creation workflows where users might input text, HTML, or other markup elements. The lack of proper input validation allows attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of other users' browsers when they view the affected content.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it provides attackers with the ability to hijack user sessions, steal sensitive information, and potentially escalate privileges within the AEM environment. When victims browse to pages containing the maliciously injected scripts, their browsers execute the JavaScript code, which could redirect them to malicious websites, steal cookies and session tokens, or perform actions on their behalf within the AEM application. This vulnerability particularly affects users with higher privileges who may be browsing content created by attackers, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive administrative functions. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that the malicious payload persists even after the initial injection, allowing attackers to maintain access to the compromised system over extended periods.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the latest security patches from Adobe as recommended in their security bulletins. Network segmentation and monitoring of user input fields can help detect anomalous patterns that might indicate attempted exploitation. Implementing strict content security policies and input validation mechanisms at multiple layers of the application stack provides additional defense-in-depth. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1531 which covers 'Modify Application Configuration' and T1059.007 which covers 'Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript'. Regular security testing including dynamic application security testing and manual penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the AEM environment. Additionally, implementing web application firewalls with rules specifically designed to detect and block XSS attempts can provide an additional protective layer against exploitation of this and similar vulnerabilities.