CVE-2024-36146 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 suffers from a critical stored cross-site scripting vulnerability that affects versions 6.5.20 and earlier. This flaw resides in the application's handling of user input within form fields, creating an avenue for persistent malicious script injection. The vulnerability operates by allowing attackers to submit crafted JavaScript code through form submissions that are subsequently stored within the application's database or processing system. When other users navigate to pages containing these stored malicious inputs, their browsers execute the injected scripts within the context of their active session. The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which defines cross-site scripting as the improper validation or sanitization of user-supplied data that is then rendered in web pages without adequate encoding or escaping mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution as it enables attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, data exfiltration, and redirection to malicious sites. An attacker with access to form fields could potentially steal cookies, modify page content, or establish persistent backdoors within the application environment. The stored nature of this vulnerability means that the malicious payload remains active even after the initial injection, making it particularly dangerous for applications that process user-generated content. This vulnerability can be exploited across multiple attack vectors including content management forms, user registration portals, comment systems, and any input field that accepts HTML content without proper sanitization. The risk is amplified when considering that Adobe Experience Manager is commonly used for enterprise content management and digital experience platforms where sensitive data and user interactions are prevalent.
Security practitioners should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding measures to prevent this vulnerability from being exploited. The recommended mitigations include implementing strict content sanitization policies that strip or encode dangerous HTML tags and JavaScript constructs from user inputs before storage. Organizations should also deploy web application firewalls that can detect and block known XSS attack patterns, while ensuring proper content security policy headers are implemented to limit script execution. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should focus on identifying all form fields and input points that could potentially store user-supplied data. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following secure coding practices as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and adheres to ATT&CK technique T1059.002 which covers command and scripting interpreter for executing malicious scripts. Organizations must also consider implementing automated security scanning tools that can identify stored XSS vulnerabilities in their web applications, particularly within content management systems that handle extensive user interaction. The remediation process should include immediate patching of affected Adobe Experience Manager instances and thorough validation of all user input handling mechanisms to ensure no similar vulnerabilities exist within the application's codebase.