CVE-2023-22258
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows low-privilege authenticated attackers to create malicious links that redirect Adobe Experience Manager users to untrusted websites. It affects Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.15.0 and earlier. Exploitation requires user interaction, such as clicking a crafted link.
💻 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 social engineering.
If Mitigated
With proper user awareness training and URL validation controls, impact is limited to potential trust erosion from unexpected redirects.
🎯 Exploit Status
Attack requires authenticated access and user interaction; trivial to exploit once authenticated.
🛠️ 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 Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.16.0 or later from Adobe's distribution portal. 2. Follow Adobe's upgrade documentation for your deployment type (on-premise or cloud). 3. Apply the update and restart all AEM instances. 4. Verify the update was successful.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Filter
allImplement custom servlet filter to validate and sanitize redirect URLs
Implement Java servlet filter that validates 'redirect' parameter against whitelist of trusted domains
User Awareness Training
allTrain users to recognize suspicious URLs and report unexpected redirects
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block open redirect patterns
- Restrict low-privilege user access to only necessary functions and monitor for suspicious redirect attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check AEM version via OSGi console or CRXDE; if version is 6.5.15.0 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
curl -u admin:admin http://localhost:4502/system/console/versionVerify Fix Applied:
After patching, verify version is 6.5.16.0 or later and test redirect functionality with malicious patterns.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual redirect patterns in access logs
- Multiple failed redirect attempts from single user
- Requests with suspicious 'redirect' parameters
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections to unexpected domains following AEM redirects
- HTTP 302 responses to non-whitelisted domains
SIEM Query:
source="aem-access.log" AND (url="*redirect=*" OR status=302) AND NOT dest_domain IN ("trusted-domain1.com", "trusted-domain2.com")