CVE-2025-46976 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 content management and digital asset handling. The platform's architecture includes numerous form-based interfaces and content editing capabilities that allow users to input and process various types of data. When analyzing this specific vulnerability within version 6.5.22 and earlier releases, the security implications extend beyond simple web application flaws to encompass potential systemic risks for organizations relying on AEM for their digital presence management. The vulnerability specifically targets the platform's form processing mechanisms where user inputs are not properly sanitized before being rendered back to other users. This creates a persistent threat vector where malicious actors can inject malicious scripts that will execute whenever legitimate users interact with the affected content, fundamentally compromising the integrity of the entire digital experience ecosystem.
The technical flaw manifests as a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability that operates through the platform's content rendering pipeline. When users submit data through vulnerable form fields, the application fails to implement adequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms. This allows attackers to inject malicious javascript payloads that persist within the application's database or content repository. The vulnerability operates at the application layer where user-supplied data flows through multiple processing stages before reaching the final presentation layer. The flaw essentially bypasses standard security controls by exploiting the trust relationship between the application and its users, enabling attackers to execute scripts in the context of other users' browsers. This type of vulnerability directly aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a classic case of insecure data handling where user inputs are not properly escaped or validated before being processed and displayed.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple script execution, creating cascading security risks for enterprise environments that rely heavily on AEM for their digital infrastructure. A successful exploitation could enable attackers to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of legitimate users, access sensitive content, or even escalate privileges within the application. The stored nature of this vulnerability means that the malicious payloads remain persistent and can affect multiple users over extended periods, making detection and remediation more challenging. Organizations using AEM for customer-facing applications, employee portals, or digital marketing platforms face significant exposure risks, as the vulnerability could be exploited to compromise user privacy, manipulate content, or serve as a foothold for further attacks. The low privilege requirement for exploitation makes this particularly concerning as it suggests that even users with minimal access rights could potentially compromise the system's integrity.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching and implementation of robust input validation controls. Organizations must prioritize updating to versions of Adobe Experience Manager that address this specific vulnerability while also implementing comprehensive content sanitization measures. The recommended approach includes deploying proper output encoding for all user-supplied content, implementing strict input validation rules, and establishing monitoring mechanisms to detect anomalous content submissions. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing web application firewalls and content security policies to provide additional layers of protection. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving command and control communications and credential access, making it particularly dangerous when combined with other attack vectors. Regular security assessments and user access reviews should be conducted to minimize the potential impact of such vulnerabilities, while incident response procedures should be updated to include detection and remediation protocols for stored XSS attacks in content management systems.