CVE-2023-48592 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 digital experience platform that enables organizations to create, manage, and deliver personalized web content across multiple channels. The platform serves as a critical component in enterprise digital strategies, handling sensitive user data through various form interactions and content management functionalities. This stored cross-site scripting vulnerability specifically targets the form processing mechanisms within AEM's content management capabilities, creating a persistent security risk that can affect organizations relying on the platform for customer engagement and data collection.
The technical flaw manifests in the insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms implemented within AEM's form handling components. When users submit data through forms, the system fails to properly sanitize or encode user-supplied content before storing it in the database or rendering it in subsequent page displays. This vulnerability affects form fields that are designed to accept user input, particularly those used for customer feedback, registration forms, or content contribution workflows. The stored nature of the XSS vulnerability means that malicious scripts injected by an attacker are persisted in the system and executed whenever any user views the affected content, regardless of their privileges or authentication status.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, creating potential pathways for more sophisticated attacks within the affected environment. Low-privileged attackers can exploit this weakness to inject malicious JavaScript that may steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. The vulnerability's persistence means that once exploited, the malicious code remains active until manually removed from the system, potentially affecting all users who encounter the compromised form fields. Organizations using AEM for customer-facing applications face significant risks including data exfiltration, credential theft, and potential compromise of the entire digital experience platform.
Security professionals should implement immediate mitigations including input validation improvements, enhanced output encoding mechanisms, and comprehensive form field sanitization protocols. Organizations should also establish monitoring procedures to detect unusual content patterns in form submissions and implement regular security assessments of their AEM implementations. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1531 which covers "Modify Application Configuration" and T1059.007 which covers "Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript". These mitigations should be complemented with regular security updates, proper access controls, and comprehensive user education about the risks of interacting with potentially compromised content.