CVE-2024-53965
📋 TL;DR
This DOM-based XSS vulnerability in Adobe Experience Manager allows low-privileged attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript in victims' browsers by manipulating URLs or inputs. Users of Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.21 and earlier are affected. The attack requires user interaction, such as clicking a malicious link.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Experience Manager
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attacker steals session cookies, performs actions as the victim, or redirects to phishing sites, potentially leading to account compromise and data theft.
Likely Case
Session hijacking, defacement of web pages, or credential theft from authenticated users who interact with malicious links.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation, output encoding, and Content Security Policy (CSP) headers in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction and low-privileged access; no public exploit code is known at this time.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 6.5.22 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/experience-manager/apsb24-69.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download the latest AEM 6.5 service pack from Adobe's distribution portal. 2. Apply the service pack following Adobe's installation guide. 3. Restart the AEM instance to activate the patch.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement Content Security Policy (CSP)
allAdd CSP headers to restrict script execution from untrusted sources.
Add 'Content-Security-Policy' header in web server configuration or AEM dispatcher.
Input Validation and Output Encoding
allSanitize user inputs and encode outputs in AEM components to prevent script injection.
Review and update AEM components to use HTL (Sightly) or proper encoding libraries.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict low-privileged user access to AEM Author instances.
- Monitor and block suspicious URLs or inputs in web application firewalls (WAF).
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check AEM version via the Welcome screen or OSGi console; if version is 6.5.21 or earlier, it is vulnerable.Check Version:
Access AEM Welcome screen at /libs/granite/core/content/login.html or use OSGi console command: 'status'Verify Fix Applied:
Verify the AEM version is 6.5.22 or later after applying the patch.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual URL parameters with script tags in access logs
- Errors related to script execution in error logs
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests with malicious script payloads in parameters
- Unexpected redirects or script loads
SIEM Query:
source="aem_access.log" AND (url="*<script>*" OR param="*javascript:*")