CVE-2024-36167 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 presents a critical stored cross-site scripting vulnerability in versions 6.5.20 and earlier, allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts into form fields that persist in the application's database. This vulnerability resides in the handling of user input within form submission processes, where inadequate sanitization permits malicious payloads to be stored and subsequently executed when other users view the affected content. The flaw enables attackers to manipulate the application's user interface by injecting javascript code into fields that are later rendered to end users without proper validation or encoding. The stored nature of this vulnerability means that once malicious input is submitted and processed, it remains persistent in the system and executes automatically whenever the affected page is accessed. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of input validation and output encoding, creating a persistent threat vector that can compromise user sessions and potentially escalate to more severe attacks. The impact extends beyond simple script execution as it can lead to session hijacking, data theft, and further exploitation of the victim's browser context. According to CWE-79, this vulnerability represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw where web applications fail to properly validate or encode user-provided data before rendering it in web pages. The attack surface includes any form field within the AEM interface that accepts user input, particularly those used for content management, user comments, or configuration settings. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates a significant risk for organizations relying on AEM for content management, as it allows attackers to compromise user sessions and potentially gain unauthorized access to sensitive content or administrative functions. The vulnerability enables attackers to execute malicious code in the context of the victim's browser, potentially leading to credential theft, privilege escalation, or redirection to malicious sites. Organizations using affected AEM versions face potential exposure to persistent threats where attackers can establish footholds that remain active until the vulnerability is patched. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1531, which covers "Account Access Removal" through session hijacking and credential theft, and T1211, which involves "Exploitation for Defense Evasion" through persistent script injection. The security implications are particularly severe in environments where AEM is used for managing sensitive corporate content or customer data, as the stored nature of the vulnerability means that even users who do not directly interact with the compromised forms may be affected when they access pages containing the malicious content. Organizations should immediately implement input validation measures, including proper encoding of all user-supplied content, and deploy web application firewalls to detect and block malicious script payloads. The recommended mitigation includes upgrading to Adobe Experience Manager version 6.5.21 or later, which contains fixes for this vulnerability. Additionally, organizations should review their input validation procedures and implement comprehensive logging to detect potential exploitation attempts. Security teams should also conduct thorough penetration testing to identify other potential vectors where similar vulnerabilities might exist within the application's form handling mechanisms.