CVE-2024-53962 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 02/05/2025
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.21 and earlier are affected by a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability that could be abused by a low privileged 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 • 02/05/2025
Adobe Experience Manager represents a comprehensive content management platform widely deployed across enterprise environments for digital experience management. The platform serves as a central hub for content creation, management, and delivery across multiple channels. Given its critical role in enterprise digital infrastructure, vulnerabilities within AEM can have significant operational and security implications. The stored XSS vulnerability in versions 6.5.21 and earlier specifically targets the platform's form handling mechanisms, where user input is processed and stored within the system. This particular flaw resides in the way AEM handles form field data, creating an opportunity for malicious actors to persistently inject malicious scripts that can execute in the context of victim browsers. The vulnerability affects the platform's content management capabilities and its ability to properly sanitize user input before storage and subsequent rendering.
The technical implementation of this stored XSS vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding within AEM's form processing components. When low privileged users submit data through vulnerable form fields, the system fails to adequately sanitize the input before storing it in the database or content repository. This allows malicious JavaScript code to be persisted within the platform's data stores. The vulnerability specifically impacts form fields that are rendered in web interfaces where the stored data is subsequently displayed without proper HTML encoding or context-appropriate sanitization. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious payloads that leverage the platform's own form handling mechanisms to inject script tags or other malicious code into form fields. The stored nature of this vulnerability means that the malicious code persists even after the initial injection, making it particularly dangerous as it can affect multiple users who view the affected content. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-79 which defines Cross-Site Scripting as a weakness where applications fail to properly encode or validate user-controllable data before rendering it in web pages. The attack vector aligns with ATT&CK technique T1531 which focuses on using malicious input to manipulate applications and potentially gain unauthorized access to system resources.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution as it can enable attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, and data exfiltration. When victims browse to pages containing the stored malicious scripts, their browsers execute the injected JavaScript code, potentially allowing attackers to access session cookies, steal credentials, or redirect users to malicious sites. The low privilege requirement for exploitation makes this vulnerability particularly concerning as it can be leveraged by users with minimal access rights within the AEM environment. This could enable attackers to escalate their privileges or gain access to sensitive content through social engineering or by targeting less security-conscious users. The persistence of the stored scripts means that even after the initial attack, the malicious code continues to execute whenever affected pages are accessed, potentially providing attackers with long-term access to the platform. Organizations utilizing AEM for sensitive content management or customer-facing applications face heightened risk as this vulnerability can be exploited to compromise user sessions and potentially access confidential information stored within the platform.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading to Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.22 or later, which contain the necessary patches for this vulnerability. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of affected AEM installations within their environment, particularly focusing on form-based content management systems. Implementing additional security controls such as web application firewalls and content security policies can provide additional layers of protection against exploitation attempts. Regular input validation and output encoding should be enforced across all form handling components within the platform to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect suspicious form submissions and unusual data patterns that might indicate attempted exploitation. Organizations should also review and strengthen their access controls and user privilege management within AEM environments to minimize the potential impact of such vulnerabilities. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions and implementing robust security practices in content management systems that handle user-generated content. Regular security audits and penetration testing of AEM environments can help identify and remediate similar weaknesses before they can be exploited by malicious actors.