CVE-2025-61797
📋 TL;DR
Adobe Experience Manager versions 11.6 and earlier contain a stored XSS vulnerability that allows low-privileged attackers to inject malicious JavaScript into form fields. When victims visit pages containing the compromised fields, their browsers execute the attacker's scripts. This requires user interaction through malicious links.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Experience Manager
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could steal session cookies, perform actions as authenticated users, or redirect to phishing sites, potentially leading to account compromise or data theft.
Likely Case
Low-privileged attackers deface content or steal limited user session data from visitors who click malicious links.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output encoding, the vulnerability would be prevented, resulting in no impact.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires low-privileged attacker access and victim interaction with malicious links.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Update to version 11.7 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/aem-screens/apsb25-98.html
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Download the latest AEM update from Adobe's official distribution. 2. Follow Adobe's update instructions for your deployment type (on-premise or cloud). 3. Verify the update completes successfully.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement Input Validation
allAdd server-side validation to sanitize user input in form fields before storage.
Implement input validation in custom AEM components using Java or HTL templates.
Apply Output Encoding
allEnsure all user-controlled data is properly encoded when rendered in HTML contexts.
Use OWASP Java Encoder or similar libraries in AEM components.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict low-privileged user access to content creation/modification features.
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block XSS payloads.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check AEM version via the Welcome screen or OSGi console; versions 11.6 or earlier are vulnerable.Check Version:
In AEM, navigate to 'Tools' > 'Operations' > 'Status' > 'System Information' to view version.Verify Fix Applied:
After updating, confirm version is 11.7 or later and test form fields for XSS by attempting to inject script tags.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual content modifications by low-privileged users
- HTTP requests containing script tags or JavaScript in form submissions
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections to suspicious domains from AEM server
- Unexpected JavaScript execution in user browsers
SIEM Query:
source="aem_logs" AND (message="*script*" OR message="*javascript*") AND user_privilege="low"