CVE-2023-48611 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 • 01/06/2024
Adobe Experience Manager presents a significant security risk through CVE-2023-48611, 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 surface where malicious scripts can be injected and executed without server-side processing. The vulnerability specifically targets the document object model of web browsers, allowing attackers to manipulate DOM elements and execute unauthorized code within the victim's browser context. The security implications are particularly concerning given that the exploit requires only a victim to click on a maliciously crafted URL, making it a sophisticated social engineering target that can bypass traditional server-side security controls.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when a low-privileged attacker crafts a malicious URL containing script payloads that are subsequently processed by the vulnerable AEM interface. Upon victim interaction, the DOM-based XSS allows the malicious JavaScript to execute within the legitimate user session, potentially compromising the victim's browser environment and enabling further attacks such as session hijacking or data exfiltration. This vulnerability operates at the client-side level where the browser interprets and executes the injected scripts, making it particularly challenging to detect through conventional network monitoring or server-side security measures. The attack vector leverages the trust relationship between the victim's browser and the AEM application, allowing the malicious code to run with the privileges and permissions of the authenticated user.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-48611 extends beyond simple script execution, potentially enabling attackers to access sensitive user data, manipulate application functionality, or escalate privileges within the AEM environment. Given that AEM serves as a content management platform for enterprise organizations, successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to confidential content, modification of web pages, or even complete compromise of the application's administrative capabilities. The vulnerability's prevalence in older AEM versions suggests that organizations with legacy systems may be particularly vulnerable, as these deployments often lack the security updates and patches that would address such client-side flaws. This creates a substantial risk for enterprise environments where content management systems handle sensitive corporate information and user data.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation through patching to address this vulnerability, as Adobe has released updates to resolve the DOM-based XSS issue in affected versions. Security teams should implement comprehensive monitoring for suspicious URL patterns and user behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. The mitigation strategy should include web application firewall rules to detect and block malicious payloads, along with user education to prevent clicking on suspicious links. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough security assessments to identify other potential DOM-based XSS vulnerabilities within their web applications, as this type of flaw often indicates broader security weaknesses in input validation and output encoding practices. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a technique that attackers might use in the credential access phase of the MITRE ATT&CK framework to establish persistent access to enterprise environments through client-side exploitation methods.