CVE-2024-52841 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 12/11/2024
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.21 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 • 02/19/2025
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.21 and earlier contain a critical stored cross-site scripting vulnerability that represents a significant threat to web application security. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications. The flaw exists within the form handling mechanisms of AEM where user input is not properly sanitized or validated before being stored and subsequently rendered back to users. Attackers can exploit this weakness by submitting malicious JavaScript code through form fields that are then persisted in the application's database or storage mechanisms.
The technical execution of this vulnerability requires an attacker to identify form fields within the AEM interface that accept user input without adequate sanitization. Once malicious code is submitted and stored, it becomes part of the application's content repository. When legitimate users navigate to pages containing these vulnerable fields, their browsers execute the injected JavaScript in the context of the victim's session. This stored nature of the vulnerability means that the malicious payload remains active even after the initial injection, making it particularly dangerous as it can affect multiple users over extended periods.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates a severe risk for organizations using Adobe Experience Manager as their primary content management system. The stored XSS attack vector allows for persistent malicious code execution that can lead to session hijacking, credential theft, data exfiltration, and redirection to malicious sites. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that AEM is often used for enterprise content management and customer-facing web applications. According to ATT&CK framework category T1531, this vulnerability enables privilege escalation through session management compromise, while T1059.007 covers the execution of malicious code via script injection techniques.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the latest security patches from Adobe, implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms, and conducting thorough security reviews of all form handling components. Additional protective measures include implementing Content Security Policy headers, regular security scanning of form inputs, and monitoring for suspicious user input patterns. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input sanitization in web applications and highlights the need for continuous security testing of content management systems. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and monitoring solutions to detect and prevent exploitation attempts.