CVE-2025-47020 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 • 06/16/2025
Adobe Experience Manager represents a comprehensive digital experience platform that enables organizations to create, manage, and deliver personalized content across multiple channels. The platform serves as a critical component in enterprise digital strategies, handling sensitive user data through various form interactions and content management functionalities. This stored cross-site scripting vulnerability specifically targets the form processing mechanisms within the AEM interface, creating a persistent security risk that can affect both administrators and end users who interact with affected content. The vulnerability exists in versions 6.5.22 and earlier, indicating a long-standing issue that has not been fully addressed in the affected release lineage.
The technical flaw manifests as a stored XSS vulnerability within the form field processing capabilities of Adobe Experience Manager. When low privileged users submit data through vulnerable forms, the platform fails to properly sanitize or encode the input before storing it in the backend database or content repository. This allows malicious script code to be permanently embedded within the form field data, creating a persistent threat vector that remains active until the affected content is manually removed or the platform is updated. The vulnerability specifically affects the rendering of form fields that are later displayed to other users, enabling attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code that executes in the victim's browser context when they view the affected pages.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it creates a persistent backdoor for attackers to compromise user sessions and potentially escalate privileges within the AEM environment. Low privileged attackers who can submit form data gain the ability to inject malicious code that executes in the context of other users browsing to affected pages, potentially leading to session hijacking, data exfiltration, or further exploitation of the AEM platform. This vulnerability can be particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where AEM is used for customer-facing applications, internal collaboration platforms, or content management systems handling sensitive corporate data. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that the malicious code remains active for extended periods, potentially affecting numerous users over time without immediate detection.
Security practitioners should prioritize immediate remediation through the application of Adobe's official patches and updates for Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.22 and earlier versions. Organizations should also implement additional protective measures such as input validation, output encoding, and regular security scanning of form processing components. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and represents a clear violation of secure coding practices that require proper input sanitization and output encoding. From an attack perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1531 for "Account Access Removal" and T1059.007 for "Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript", as attackers can leverage the stored script execution capability to establish persistent access or execute malicious commands within victim browsers. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and content security policies to provide additional layers of protection against exploitation attempts.
The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation and output encoding in web applications, particularly those handling user-submitted content. Adobe Experience Manager's form processing components must implement robust sanitization mechanisms to prevent malicious scripts from being stored and executed. This incident highlights the need for comprehensive security testing including dynamic application security testing and manual penetration testing of form processing functionalities. Regular security assessments of content management systems should include thorough examination of input handling mechanisms to identify potential stored XSS vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers with minimal privileges. The affected versions represent a significant security risk that requires immediate attention from security teams responsible for maintaining enterprise digital platforms and protecting against persistent threats in the application layer.