CVE-2025-46911 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 high 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 adopted across enterprise environments for digital experience management. The platform serves as a central hub for creating, managing, and delivering digital content across multiple channels. This particular vulnerability affects versions 6.5.22 and earlier, indicating a significant exposure across a substantial portion of deployed instances. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the form processing components of the application. Attackers with high privileged access can exploit this weakness by injecting malicious javascript code into form fields that are subsequently stored within the system. The stored nature of this vulnerability means that the malicious payload persists within the application's database or storage mechanisms, making it particularly dangerous as it can affect multiple users over time. When legitimate users navigate to pages containing these vulnerable form fields, their browsers execute the injected javascript code within the context of their authenticated sessions. This creates a severe security risk as the executing script can perform actions on behalf of the user, potentially accessing sensitive data, modifying content, or redirecting users to malicious sites. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and it maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.001 related to spearphishing attachments. The impact extends beyond simple script execution as it can enable further exploitation such as session hijacking, credential theft, or data exfiltration. The high privileged attacker requirement suggests that the vulnerability may be exploited by internal threat actors or compromised administrators who have already gained elevated access to the system.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs within the form handling and rendering components of Adobe Experience Manager. When form data is submitted through the user interface, the application fails to properly sanitize or encode the input before storing it in the backend systems. This lack of proper sanitization allows malicious payloads to be stored alongside legitimate content. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates at the application layer where user inputs are processed and rendered in web browsers. The stored XSS nature means that the malicious code is not dependent on a specific user interaction beyond visiting the affected page. The vulnerability demonstrates a failure in the principle of least privilege and proper input validation, as the system should have validated and sanitized all user inputs regardless of the user's privilege level. When users browse to pages containing the vulnerable form fields, the browser executes the stored javascript code without proper context isolation, potentially compromising the user's browsing session and access to sensitive data. The exploitation chain begins with an attacker with elevated privileges submitting malicious code through form inputs, storing it within the application's content repository, and then waiting for other users to view the affected content.
Organizations utilizing Adobe Experience Manager face significant operational risks from this vulnerability, particularly those with extensive content management workflows and user collaboration features. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that once exploited, the malicious code can affect multiple users over extended periods, potentially compromising large numbers of accounts. This vulnerability can severely impact the integrity and confidentiality of digital experiences managed through the platform, as attackers can manipulate content and potentially steal sensitive information from authenticated users. The vulnerability also poses risks to business continuity and brand reputation, as malicious code execution could lead to unauthorized modifications of critical content or user data breaches. Organizations with limited security monitoring capabilities may not detect the exploitation of this vulnerability until significant damage has occurred. The impact extends to compliance requirements, as this vulnerability could potentially violate data protection regulations and security standards. The exploitation of this vulnerability may also enable attackers to establish persistent access patterns within the organization's digital infrastructure, potentially serving as a foothold for further lateral movement within the network.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching of affected Adobe Experience Manager instances to version 6.5.23 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application's form handling components to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in other areas. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual form submission patterns or content modifications that may indicate exploitation attempts. Network segmentation and access controls should be reviewed to limit the privilege levels of users who can submit content, reducing the attack surface for this particular vulnerability. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities within the broader application architecture. Additionally, organizations should implement web application firewalls and content security policies to provide additional layers of protection against script injection attacks. The implementation of security awareness training for administrators can help prevent privilege escalation scenarios that could lead to exploitation of this vulnerability. Organizations should also establish incident response procedures specifically designed to handle XSS vulnerabilities, ensuring rapid detection and remediation of similar issues that may arise in the future.