CVE-2024-26121 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 06/13/2024
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.20 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 • 03/23/2025
Adobe Experience Manager represents a comprehensive content management platform that serves as a cornerstone for enterprise digital experiences, handling sensitive user data and business-critical content management operations. The platform's widespread adoption across organizations makes it an attractive target for cyber adversaries seeking to exploit vulnerabilities that could compromise user sessions and data integrity. This particular vulnerability exists within the form handling mechanisms of AEM versions 6.5.20 and earlier, where user inputs are not properly sanitized before being stored and subsequently rendered back to users. The stored nature of this XSS vulnerability means that malicious payloads are persistently embedded within the application's database or storage systems, making them particularly dangerous as they can affect multiple users over extended periods. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding practices within the form processing components, allowing attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code through form fields that are subsequently displayed to other users.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability follows a classic stored XSS attack pattern where an attacker first submits a malicious payload through a vulnerable form field, which gets stored in the application's backend. When other users navigate to pages containing these stored form fields, their browsers execute the malicious JavaScript code within their security context, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious sites. The impact extends beyond simple script execution as attackers can leverage this vulnerability to establish persistent access to user sessions, potentially escalating to full system compromise. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-79 which defines Cross-Site Scripting as a weakness that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web applications viewed by other users. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that AEM systems often handle sensitive business data, user authentication information, and corporate content that could be accessed by unauthorized parties. The vulnerability's persistence means that even after the initial injection, the malicious code continues to execute whenever affected pages are loaded, creating a long-term threat vector that can be difficult to detect and remediate.
The operational impact of this vulnerability creates significant risk for organizations relying on Adobe Experience Manager for their digital presence and content management operations. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability to steal user credentials, manipulate content displayed to legitimate users, or redirect them to phishing sites designed to capture additional sensitive information. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that the attack can persist even after initial compromise, making it difficult for administrators to detect and remove malicious content. Organizations may experience reputational damage from successful attacks, potential regulatory compliance violations, and operational disruption from compromised systems. The vulnerability also enables advanced persistent threat campaigns where attackers can establish backdoors or deploy additional malware through the executed JavaScript payloads. This type of vulnerability can be particularly damaging in enterprise environments where AEM systems manage critical business applications, customer portals, and internal collaboration platforms. Security teams face challenges in monitoring and detecting such attacks as the malicious code appears to be legitimate content within the application's interface, making traditional security controls less effective at identifying the threat.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading to Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.21 or later, which contain patches addressing this vulnerability. System administrators should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding controls across all form handling components to prevent similar issues in other applications. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify potential injection points and validate the effectiveness of security controls. Network monitoring solutions should be configured to detect unusual traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts, while web application firewalls can provide additional layers of protection. Security teams should also implement proper access controls and user privilege management to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation. Incident response procedures should be updated to include specific protocols for handling XSS vulnerabilities, ensuring rapid detection and remediation of similar threats. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies that protect against various attack vectors including those that leverage the application's legitimate functionality to deliver malicious payloads. Organizations should also consider implementing content security policies and regular security training for developers to prevent similar issues in custom application development.