CVE-2024-26113
📋 TL;DR
This reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Adobe Experience Manager allows attackers to execute malicious JavaScript in victims' browsers by tricking them into visiting specially crafted URLs. It affects Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.20 and earlier. The vulnerability requires user interaction but can lead to session hijacking, data theft, or further attacks.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Experience Manager
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attacker steals administrator session cookies, gains full administrative access to AEM instance, deploys backdoors, exfiltrates sensitive data, or uses the compromised system as a pivot point for internal network attacks.
Likely Case
Attacker steals user session cookies, performs actions as the victim (content modification, privilege escalation), or redirects users to phishing sites.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output encoding, the malicious script is neutralized, preventing execution and limiting impact to failed attack attempts.
🎯 Exploit Status
Reflected XSS typically has low exploitation complexity. No authentication required, but requires social engineering to deliver malicious URL.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 6.5.21 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/experience-manager/apsb24-28.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.21 or later from Adobe's distribution portal. 2. Apply the service pack following Adobe's upgrade documentation. 3. Restart the AEM instance. 4. Verify the patch is applied by checking the version.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Web Application Firewall (WAF) Rules
allDeploy WAF rules to block XSS payloads in URL parameters
Input Validation Filter
allImplement custom servlet filters to sanitize URL parameters
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution
- Deploy network segmentation to limit AEM exposure and require VPN for administrative access
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check AEM version via CRXDE Lite or system console. If version is 6.5.20 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
curl -u admin:password http://localhost:4502/system/console/status-productinfo.json | grep "version"Verify Fix Applied:
Verify AEM version is 6.5.21 or later. Test with safe XSS payloads to confirm input sanitization.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual URL parameters containing script tags or JavaScript in access logs
- Multiple failed XSS attempts from same IP
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests with suspicious parameters containing <script>, javascript:, or encoded payloads
SIEM Query:
source="aem_access.log" AND ("<script" OR "javascript:" OR "%3Cscript" OR "%22onload%3D")