CVE-2024-26080 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 03/18/2024
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.19 and earlier are affected by a DOM-based Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability that could be abused by an attacker to inject malicious scripts into vulnerable web pages. Malicious JavaScript may be executed in a victim’s browser when they browse to the page containing the vulnerable script.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/15/2025
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.19 and earlier contain a critical DOM-based cross-site scripting vulnerability that represents a significant security risk for organizations relying on this content management platform. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting and specifically manifests as a DOM-based XSS flaw that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts directly into the Document Object Model of web pages. The vulnerability arises from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the AEM framework, particularly in how it processes user-supplied parameters that are reflected in the DOM without proper sanitization. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious URLs or input parameters that, when processed by the vulnerable AEM instance, result in the execution of unauthorized JavaScript code within the victim's browser context.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it provides attackers with the ability to perform session hijacking, steal sensitive cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or even execute more sophisticated attacks such as credential theft or data exfiltration. The DOM-based nature of this XSS vulnerability means that the malicious script is executed directly within the browser's DOM rather than being reflected in HTTP response headers, making it particularly challenging to detect through traditional network-based security measures. This vulnerability can be exploited through various attack vectors including crafted URLs with malicious parameters, social engineering campaigns targeting administrators, or by leveraging other vulnerabilities within the AEM ecosystem to establish a foothold for more extensive attacks.
Organizations utilizing Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.19 and earlier face substantial risk from this vulnerability, as it could enable attackers to compromise user sessions and potentially gain unauthorized access to sensitive content management features. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that AEM is commonly used for managing enterprise web applications, digital marketing platforms, and customer-facing websites where user authentication and session management are critical. Security practitioners should consider this vulnerability in their threat modeling exercises and recognize that it aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript, as well as T1566 for Phishing and T1531 for Account Access Removal. The vulnerability also demonstrates characteristics consistent with the MITRE ATT&CK framework's focus on web application attacks and user interaction-based exploitation techniques.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of affected AEM instances to version 6.5.20 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes to address the DOM-based XSS flaw. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout their AEM implementations, particularly for parameters that are reflected in the DOM. Network security controls including web application firewalls and content filtering solutions should be configured to detect and block suspicious script injection attempts. Additionally, security teams should conduct thorough code reviews and penetration testing to identify any custom implementations that may be vulnerable to similar DOM-based XSS attacks. Regular security awareness training for administrators and developers is essential to prevent social engineering attacks that may leverage this vulnerability, while monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect anomalous user behavior patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. The remediation process should also include implementing proper security headers, such as Content Security Policy directives, to further reduce the attack surface and prevent successful exploitation of this and similar vulnerabilities in the future.