CVE-2023-22256
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows low-privilege authenticated attackers to create malicious links that redirect users to untrusted websites when clicked. It affects Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.15.0 and earlier. Exploitation requires user interaction, making it a social engineering risk.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Experience Manager
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Users could be redirected to phishing sites that steal credentials or deliver malware, potentially leading to account compromise or system infection.
Likely Case
Attackers use crafted links in phishing campaigns to redirect users to malicious sites for credential harvesting or malware distribution.
If Mitigated
With proper user awareness training and web filtering, impact is limited to potential trust erosion from legitimate-looking redirects.
🎯 Exploit Status
Open redirect vulnerabilities are commonly exploited in phishing campaigns and require minimal technical skill.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 6.5.16.0 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/experience-manager/apsb23-18.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download AEM 6.5.16.0 or later from Adobe distribution portal. 2. Apply the service pack following Adobe's installation guide. 3. Restart the AEM instance. 4. Verify the update completed successfully.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Filter
allImplement server-side validation to reject URLs with external domains in redirect parameters
Configure AEM's Sling Referrer Filter to restrict redirect domains
Web Application Firewall Rules
allBlock requests containing suspicious redirect parameters in URLs
WAF rule: deny requests with 'redirect', 'return', 'url' parameters containing external domains
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict redirect destinations
- Deploy network/web filtering to block known malicious domains and suspicious redirect patterns
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check AEM version via CRXDE Lite or system console. If version is 6.5.15.0 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
curl -u admin:password http://localhost:4502/system/console/status-productinfo | grep 'Adobe Experience Manager'Verify Fix Applied:
After patching, verify version is 6.5.16.0 or later and test redirect functionality with external URLs.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual redirect patterns in access logs
- Requests with external URLs in redirect parameters from authenticated users
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections to suspicious domains following AEM redirects
- Increased traffic to known phishing domains
SIEM Query:
source="aem-access.log" AND ("redirect=" OR "return=" OR "url=") AND NOT domain="trusted-domain.com"