CVE-2023-48585 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 systems running versions 6.5.18 and earlier contain a critical stored cross-site scripting vulnerability that allows low-privileged attackers to inject malicious javascript code into form fields. This vulnerability resides in the content management system's handling of user input within form elements, creating a persistent security flaw that can be exploited across multiple user sessions. The stored nature of this vulnerability means that malicious scripts are permanently embedded within the application's data storage, making them particularly dangerous as they persist even after the initial injection point. Attackers can leverage this weakness by submitting crafted payloads through form fields that are then rendered back to other users without proper sanitization or encoding mechanisms. The vulnerability directly violates the core principles of web application security by failing to implement adequate input validation and output encoding controls. According to CWE-79, this represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw where the application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied data before incorporating it into dynamically generated web pages. The impact extends beyond simple script execution as it can enable more sophisticated attacks including session hijacking, credential theft, and redirection to malicious sites. The low privilege requirement makes this vulnerability particularly concerning as it can be exploited by users with minimal access rights, potentially allowing attackers to escalate their privileges or gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. This weakness creates a persistent threat vector that can affect any user who interacts with the compromised form fields, making it a significant risk to organizations relying on Adobe Experience Manager for content management and user interaction. The vulnerability's exploitation can lead to complete compromise of user sessions and potential data breaches. Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including input sanitization, output encoding, and regular security updates to prevent exploitation of this vulnerability. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a web application vulnerability that can enable initial access and privilege escalation through client-side attacks. Proper implementation of Content Security Policy headers and regular security assessments can help detect and prevent such vulnerabilities from being exploited in production environments. The affected versions represent a significant security gap that requires immediate remediation to protect against potential exploitation by threat actors seeking to compromise user sessions and access sensitive organizational data through the compromised content management system.