CVE-2024-43722 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 12/11/2024
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.21 and earlier are affected by a DOM-based Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability that could be exploited by an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the victim's browser session. By manipulating a DOM element through a crafted URL or user input, the attacker can inject malicious scripts that run when the page is rendered. This type of attack requires user interaction, as the victim would need to access the manipulated URL or input.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/19/2025
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.21 and earlier contain a DOM-based cross-site scripting vulnerability that represents a significant security risk for organizations utilizing 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 can be exploited through manipulation of the Document Object Model. The vulnerability exists within the web application's handling of user-supplied input and demonstrates how insufficient input validation and output encoding can create persistent attack vectors that persist across user sessions.
The technical flaw occurs when the application fails to properly sanitize or escape user-controllable data that gets processed within the DOM structure of web pages. Attackers can craft malicious URLs or manipulate user input that, when processed by the AEM application, gets injected into DOM elements without proper sanitization. This allows attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript code within the victim's browser context, effectively hijacking the user's session and potentially gaining access to sensitive data or performing unauthorized actions on behalf of the victim. The attack requires user interaction, meaning victims must navigate to the crafted URL or interact with the manipulated input, but once executed, the malicious script runs with the privileges of the authenticated user.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform session hijacking, data theft, credential harvesting, and privilege escalation within the AEM environment. Since AEM is commonly used for enterprise content management, the exploitation of this vulnerability could compromise sensitive corporate information, user data, and business-critical web applications. The DOM-based nature of the vulnerability makes it particularly challenging to detect and prevent, as traditional input validation approaches may not catch all instances of malicious DOM manipulation. This vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for script injection and T1531 for credential access, demonstrating how attackers can leverage such flaws to establish persistent access to enterprise systems.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading to Adobe Experience Manager versions that contain patches for this vulnerability, as the affected versions represent a critical security exposure. The mitigation strategy should include implementing comprehensive input validation mechanisms, enforcing strict output encoding for all user-supplied content, and deploying web application firewalls to detect and block malicious requests. Additionally, security teams should conduct thorough code reviews focusing on DOM manipulation patterns and implement security awareness training for developers to prevent similar vulnerabilities in custom AEM applications. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following secure coding practices and adhering to OWASP Top Ten security guidelines, particularly those addressing input validation and output encoding controls that are essential for preventing XSS attacks in modern web applications.