CVE-2025-46872 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 06/11/2025
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.22 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 • 06/11/2025
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 creating, managing, and delivering digital content across multiple channels while providing robust user management and workflow capabilities. Given its central role in enterprise digital infrastructure, vulnerabilities within AEM can pose significant risks to organizational security postures. The stored XSS vulnerability in versions 6.5.22 and earlier specifically targets the platform's form processing mechanisms, creating a persistent threat vector that can compromise user sessions and execute unauthorized commands. This vulnerability affects the core content management functionality where user inputs are processed and stored within the system's database, making it particularly dangerous as the malicious scripts become embedded within legitimate content.
The technical flaw manifests in the improper sanitization of user inputs within form fields that are subsequently rendered in web pages. When low privileged users submit content through forms, the platform fails to adequately validate or escape special characters that could be interpreted as HTML or JavaScript code. This validation gap allows attackers to inject malicious payloads that are stored in the system's database and subsequently executed when other users view the affected content. The vulnerability operates as a stored XSS attack because the malicious script is permanently stored on the server rather than being reflected in HTTP responses, making it more persistent and potentially more damaging. The attack requires minimal privileges to exploit, as the vulnerability affects form fields accessible to users with basic content editing permissions, which are often granted to marketing teams, content creators, and other operational staff members.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to hijack user sessions, steal sensitive information, or redirect users to malicious websites. When victims browse pages containing the stored malicious content, their browsers execute the injected JavaScript code within the context of their authenticated sessions, potentially allowing attackers to access restricted areas of the application or steal session cookies. This type of attack can be particularly devastating in enterprise environments where AEM systems manage sensitive customer data, internal communications, and business-critical content. The vulnerability's persistence means that once exploited, the malicious scripts continue to execute for all users who access the affected pages until the malicious content is removed from the system. The attack vector is easily accessible to attackers with basic user accounts, making it a significant concern for organizations that do not maintain strict access controls or input validation practices.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to Adobe Experience Manager version 6.5.23 or later, which contains patches addressing this vulnerability. Additionally, administrators should enforce strict input validation and output encoding for all user-submitted content, particularly in form fields and content editing areas. The implementation of Content Security Policies can provide an additional layer of protection by restricting the sources from which scripts can be loaded. Security teams should also conduct thorough audits of existing content to identify and remove any previously injected malicious scripts. According to CWE-79, this vulnerability maps to the Common Weakness Enumeration for Cross-Site Scripting, while the ATT&CK framework categorizes this under T1531 for Establishing Persistence and T1566 for Phishing, highlighting the multi-faceted nature of the threat. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious input patterns, and establish regular security training for content creators to prevent accidental exploitation of such vulnerabilities.