CVE-2023-48589 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 • 09/20/2025
Adobe Experience Manager presents a significant security weakness through CVE-2023-48589, which manifests as a DOM-based cross-site scripting vulnerability affecting versions 6.5.18 and earlier. This flaw resides in the application's handling of user-supplied input within the browser environment, creating an attack vector where malicious scripts can be injected and executed without server-side intervention. The vulnerability operates at the client-side DOM level, making it particularly insidious as it exploits the way web applications manipulate document object model structures rather than traditional server-side input validation failures.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability occurs when a maliciously crafted URL containing harmful JavaScript code is accessed by an unsuspecting user. The vulnerability stems from inadequate sanitization of input parameters that are directly incorporated into DOM operations without proper context encoding or validation. This allows attackers to inject malicious payloads that execute within the victim's browser context, potentially compromising user sessions and enabling further exploitation techniques. The attack requires social engineering to convince victims to click malicious links, but once triggered, the execution occurs entirely within the victim's browser environment.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses substantial risk to organizations using Adobe Experience Manager, particularly those handling sensitive customer data or user authentication. The low privilege requirement for exploitation means that even attackers with minimal access rights can potentially compromise user sessions and escalate their access within the application. The impact extends beyond simple script execution as attackers can leverage this vulnerability to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of users, or redirect victims to malicious sites. This represents a critical threat to user privacy and application integrity, especially in environments where AEM serves as a primary content management platform.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.19 or later, which contain patches addressing this vulnerability. Additional protective measures include implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms, deploying Content Security Policy headers to restrict script execution, and conducting regular security assessments of web applications. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and follows ATT&CK technique T1531 which covers credential access through web application attacks. Organizations should also establish user awareness training programs to reduce the success rate of social engineering attacks that exploit this vulnerability, as the attack vector relies heavily on user interaction with malicious URLs.