CVE-2024-26056 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 03/18/2024
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.19 and earlier are affected by a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability that could be abused by an 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 • 04/15/2025
Adobe Experience Manager represents a comprehensive digital experience platform that enables organizations to create, manage, and deliver personalized 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 field processing mechanisms within the AEM interface, creating a persistent threat vector that can compromise user sessions and data integrity. The vulnerability affects versions 6.5.19 and earlier, indicating that organizations running these legacy versions face significant risk exposure through their content management workflows.
The technical flaw manifests in the improper sanitization of user input within form fields that are subsequently stored and rendered back to users. When attackers submit malicious JavaScript payloads through form inputs, the system fails to adequately filter or encode these inputs before storing them in the database or content repository. This stored data is then retrieved and displayed in subsequent page renders without proper output encoding, creating the classic conditions for stored XSS exploitation. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding controls within the AEM content management pipeline, particularly affecting form handling components that process user-submitted data through the authoring interface.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it provides attackers with persistent access to user sessions and potentially sensitive administrative functions. When victims browse to pages containing the maliciously stored content, their browsers execute the injected JavaScript code within the context of their authenticated AEM session. This could enable attackers to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized administrative actions, modify content, or escalate privileges within the AEM environment. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that the malicious payload remains active until manually removed from the content repository, creating a long-term threat vector that can affect multiple users over extended periods.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected AEM instances to address this vulnerability through Adobe's official security updates. The mitigation strategy should include implementing robust input validation mechanisms, enforcing strict output encoding for all user-generated content, and establishing comprehensive monitoring for unauthorized content modifications. Security teams should conduct thorough audits of all form-based content management workflows and implement web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious input patterns. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a significant concern under the ATT&CK framework's T1566.001 technique for initial access through spearphishing attachments, as attackers could leverage this vulnerability to establish persistent access through malicious form submissions. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing content security policies and regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in their AEM implementations and prevent future exploitation attempts.