CVE-2025-46917 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 presents a critical stored cross-site scripting vulnerability in versions 6.5.22 and earlier, where malicious actors with low privilege access can inject persistent javascript payloads into form fields. This flaw resides in the application's handling of user input within content management interfaces, specifically affecting the way submitted data is processed and rendered back to users. The vulnerability stems from inadequate sanitization of form field inputs, allowing attackers to embed malicious scripts that persist in the application's database or storage mechanisms. When legitimate users navigate to pages containing these compromised fields, their browsers execute the injected javascript code within the context of their active session, potentially compromising their browsing environment and credentials.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability follows established patterns documented in CWE-79, which categorizes cross-site scripting flaws as weaknesses in input validation and output encoding. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability through various means including crafted form submissions, file uploads, or content management operations that accept user-provided data. The stored nature of this vulnerability means that malicious payloads remain persistent in the system, affecting all users who view the compromised content without requiring repeated exploitation attempts. This characteristic significantly amplifies the attack surface and impact potential compared to reflected XSS variants.
Operational impact of CVE-2025-46917 extends beyond simple script execution, potentially enabling attackers to perform session hijacking, credential theft, data exfiltration, and privilege escalation within the affected AEM environment. The low privilege requirement for exploitation makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged by insiders or compromised users with minimal access rights. Organizations utilizing AEM for content management, digital asset handling, or customer interaction platforms face heightened risk of unauthorized access to sensitive data and system compromise. The vulnerability's presence in the content management layer also creates opportunities for attackers to manipulate published content, potentially affecting customer-facing websites and applications.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of affected AEM versions to 6.5.23 or later, which contain necessary input validation and output encoding fixes. Organizations must implement comprehensive input sanitization measures including HTML entity encoding, content security policies, and strict validation of user inputs across all form fields and content management interfaces. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls should be configured to detect and block known XSS payload patterns. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should verify the effectiveness of implemented controls, while user access controls should be reviewed to minimize potential attack vectors. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1059.007 for script execution and T1566 for social engineering, emphasizing the need for layered defensive approaches that address both technical and human factors in the attack chain.