CVE-2024-53967
📋 TL;DR
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.21 and earlier contain a DOM-based cross-site scripting vulnerability that allows low-privileged attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript in victims' browsers by tricking them into clicking malicious links. This could lead to session hijacking, data theft, or further attacks within the victim's authenticated session. Only users with access to the affected AEM instances are at risk.
💻 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, deploys backdoors, exfiltrates sensitive data, and compromises the entire content management system.
Likely Case
Low-privileged user's session is hijacked, allowing attacker to perform actions as that user, potentially escalating privileges or accessing unauthorized content.
If Mitigated
Attack fails due to input validation, output encoding, or Content Security Policy blocking script execution, resulting in no impact beyond failed exploitation attempts.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires social engineering to trick users into clicking malicious links. Attacker needs low-privileged access to craft the malicious payload.
🛠️ 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 Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.22 or later from Adobe's distribution portal. 2. Apply the service pack following Adobe's upgrade documentation. 3. Restart all AEM instances. 4. Verify the update was successful.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement Content Security Policy
allDeploy a strict Content Security Policy header to block inline scripts and restrict script sources
Add 'Content-Security-Policy: script-src 'self';' to web server configuration
Input Validation Filter
allImplement server-side input validation to sanitize DOM manipulation parameters
Configure AEM's XSS protection filters via /system/console/configMgr
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict Content Security Policy headers to block inline script execution
- Deploy web application firewall rules to detect and block XSS payload patterns
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check AEM version via CRXDE Lite or system console. If version is 6.5.21 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
curl -u admin:password http://aem-host:port/system/console/status-productinfo | grep 'Adobe Experience Manager'Verify Fix Applied:
Verify AEM version is 6.5.22 or later. Test DOM manipulation inputs to ensure they are properly sanitized.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual DOM manipulation parameters in request logs
- Multiple failed XSS attempts from same source
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing suspicious script tags or JavaScript in DOM parameters
SIEM Query:
source="aem-access.log" AND ("<script" OR "javascript:" OR "onload=" OR "onerror=")