Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) is widely used for building websites, mobile applications, and managing digital content. A critical vulnerability affecting versions 6.5.21 and earlier has been discovered and assigned the number CVE-2024-52864. This vulnerability is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) issue, which could be exploited by malicious actors to inject scripts into vulnerable forms, potentially executing harmful JavaScript on a victim's browser if they visit the page containing the affected form fields.

In this post, we will explore the details of this vulnerability, including code snippets and links to relevant references. We'll also discuss potential methods for exploiting the issue and offer recommendations for mitigating the risks posed by this vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

CVE-2024-52864 is classified as a stored XSS vulnerability. Stored XSS attacks occur when a malicious script is permanently stored within a web application's database, and then triggered when a user loads the page containing the vulnerable form field.

Exploit Details

The vulnerability in Adobe Experience Manager allows an attacker to inject malicious scripts into vulnerable form fields. When a victim visits the page containing the vulnerable field, the attacker's script is then executed. For instance, an attacker could potentially access sensitive data, perform unauthorized actions, or redirect the victim to other malicious websites.

Code Snippet

Using this code snippet, consider a vulnerable form field in AEM where a user can insert their username:

<div class="username-field">
  <input type="text" name="username">
</div>

An attacker might inject a malicious script like this

<script>alert("XSS Attack");</script>

When the user visits a page with this form field, their browser will execute the injected script, displaying an alert message with the text "XSS Attack".

References

1. Original advisory: https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-52864
2. Adobe security bulletin: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/experience-manager/apsb19-32.html

Mitigation

To prevent the exploitation of this vulnerability, it is crucial to update your Adobe Experience Manager to the latest version that includes the proper security patch. Adobe has addressed this vulnerability in AEM version 6.5.22. Users running older versions are highly recommended to upgrade to prevent potential attacks.

Additionally, follow these best practices to reduce the risk of XSS attacks

1. Sanitize user input: Always validate and sanitize any data entered by users before storing it in your database or rendering it to prevent malicious scripts from being executed.
2. Use content security policies (CSP): Configure your web server to send a Content Security Policy header that restricts the resources that can be loaded for your web application. This can help mitigate the risk of XSS attacks by limiting the sources from which scripts can be executed.
3. Employ output encoding: Ensure that all user data displayed on your website is properly encoded to prevent the browser from interpreting it as executable code.

Conclusion

CVE-2024-52864 poses a significant threat to users of Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.21 and earlier. By updating to the latest version and following best practices for securing web applications against XSS vulnerabilities, organizations can reduce their risk and help protect their users.

It is critical to stay informed about security vulnerabilities and to implement recommended patches and updates as they become available. Regularly checking sources like the CVE database and Adobe's security bulletins can help you stay aware of any new threats that may emerge.

Timeline

Published on: 12/10/2024 22:15:22 UTC
Last modified on: 12/13/2024 17:37:46 UTC