CVE-2025-46939 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 • 06/13/2025
Adobe Experience Manager represents a comprehensive digital experience platform that serves as a cornerstone for enterprise web content management and digital marketing solutions. The platform's architecture includes numerous form handling mechanisms and user input validation points that are critical for maintaining security boundaries within enterprise environments. This stored cross-site scripting vulnerability specifically targets the form processing capabilities of Adobe Experience Manager, creating a persistent threat vector that can compromise user sessions and execute unauthorized code within victim browsers. The vulnerability exists within the platform's input sanitization mechanisms, where user-supplied data is not properly validated or escaped before being stored and subsequently rendered back to users.
The technical flaw manifests in the insufficient sanitization of form field inputs within Adobe Experience Manager's content management system. When low privilege users submit data through forms, the platform fails to adequately filter or escape special characters that could be interpreted as HTML or JavaScript code. This vulnerability allows attackers to inject malicious scripts directly into form fields that are later displayed to other users. The stored nature of this vulnerability means that the malicious payload persists in the database and executes every time the affected content is rendered, making it particularly dangerous for widespread impact. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws where untrusted data is improperly incorporated into web pages without proper validation or escaping mechanisms. Attackers can leverage this weakness by crafting malicious payloads that exploit the platform's rendering engine to execute arbitrary JavaScript code within the context of authenticated user sessions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution to encompass serious security implications for enterprise environments. Low privilege attackers who can submit form data can potentially escalate their privileges by stealing session cookies, redirecting users to malicious sites, or executing phishing attacks against other platform users. The vulnerability affects the integrity of the entire content management system as it allows for persistent malicious code injection that can compromise user authentication mechanisms. This type of vulnerability can be particularly devastating in enterprise settings where Adobe Experience Manager is used for customer-facing applications, internal portals, or marketing campaigns where user data is collected through forms. The attack surface is expanded by the fact that multiple form types across the platform may be vulnerable, including user registration forms, contact forms, and content submission mechanisms. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1531 - Establish Account and T1059.007 - Command and Scripting Interpreter, as attackers can establish persistent access through session hijacking and execute malicious code within victim browsers.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching of affected Adobe Experience Manager installations to version 6.5.23 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation at multiple layers including client-side, server-side, and database input sanitization to prevent malicious code injection. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers can provide additional protection by restricting script execution within the platform's user interface. Security teams should conduct thorough penetration testing to identify all potential form endpoints that may be vulnerable and implement proper output encoding for all user-supplied content. Regular security monitoring and log analysis should be enhanced to detect unusual submission patterns or attempts to inject malicious content. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to filter malicious payloads before they reach the application layer. The vulnerability highlights the critical importance of input validation in web applications and demonstrates how seemingly minor security gaps can create significant risks for enterprise environments where user interaction is a core component of the platform's functionality.