CVE-2024-52846
📋 TL;DR
This stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Adobe Experience Manager allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript into vulnerable form fields. When users visit pages containing these compromised fields, their browsers execute the attacker's scripts. This affects Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.21 and earlier.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Experience Manager
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, perform actions on behalf of authenticated users, or deploy additional malware payloads.
Likely Case
Attackers typically use this to steal session cookies or credentials, perform limited account takeover, or deface website content.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output encoding, the impact is limited to unsuccessful injection attempts that get sanitized.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires the attacker to have access to submit data to vulnerable form fields, which typically requires some level of access or social engineering.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.22 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/experience-manager/apsb24-69.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.22 or later from Adobe's official distribution channels. 2. Follow Adobe's upgrade documentation for your deployment type (on-premise or cloud). 3. Apply the update to all affected instances. 4. Restart the AEM service. 5. Verify the update was successful.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Filter
allImplement server-side input validation to sanitize user input in form fields
Implement custom servlet filters or use AEM's built-in XSS protection APIs
Content Security Policy
allImplement strict Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution
Add 'Content-Security-Policy: script-src 'self'' to HTTP responses
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block XSS payloads
- Disable or restrict access to vulnerable form components until patching is possible
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check AEM version via the AEM welcome console or by examining the crx-quickstart folder version fileCheck Version:
Check the version.properties file in the crx-quickstart folder or use the AEM welcome consoleVerify Fix Applied:
Verify the AEM version is 6.5.22 or later and test form fields with XSS payloads to confirm sanitization📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual form submissions with script tags or JavaScript code
- Multiple failed XSS attempts in access logs
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing script tags or JavaScript in form parameters
- Unusual outbound connections from user browsers after form submissions
SIEM Query:
source="aem_access.log" AND ("<script>" OR "javascript:" OR "onload=" OR "onerror=")