CVE-2025-46873: Adobe Experience Manager XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-46873 Overview

CVE-2025-46873 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) versions 6.5.22 and earlier. A low-privileged attacker can inject malicious JavaScript into vulnerable form fields. The payload executes in a victim's browser when they view the page containing the affected field. The flaw is classified under [CWE-79] (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation).

Critical Impact
Attackers with low-level access can inject persistent JavaScript into AEM form fields, enabling session compromise, credential theft, and content manipulation against authenticated users who view the affected pages.

Affected Products

Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.22 and earlier (on-premises)
Adobe Experience Manager Cloud Service
AEM Forms components handling user-supplied field content

Discovery Timeline

2025-06-10 - CVE-2025-46873 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-46873

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in how Adobe Experience Manager processes and renders content submitted through form fields. AEM stores attacker-controlled input without adequate output encoding. When another user renders the page containing the affected field, the browser interprets the injected content as executable script rather than data.

Because the exploit requires user interaction and low-level authenticated access, it fits scenarios where authors, contributors, or form submitters can persist content that is later viewed by administrators or site visitors. The scope change indicates that injected script executes in a security context beyond the vulnerable component, expanding the reach of the payload across the AEM application.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of user input during web page generation [CWE-79]. AEM fails to consistently apply context-aware output encoding to values rendered inside affected form fields. HTML control characters and script constructs pass through the rendering pipeline unmodified and are interpreted by the victim's browser.

Attack Vector

An authenticated attacker with low privileges submits a payload containing JavaScript to a vulnerable form field. AEM persists the payload in its content repository. When a legitimate user, including higher-privileged administrators, browses to the page rendering the field, the browser executes the stored script under the origin of the AEM application. This enables session token theft, forced navigation, unauthorized administrative actions, and content defacement.

No verified public proof-of-concept code is available. Refer to the Adobe Security Advisory APSB25-48 for vendor-supplied technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-46873

Indicators of Compromise

Form field values in the AEM repository containing <script>, javascript:, onerror=, onload=, or encoded variants such as <script>.
Unexpected outbound HTTP requests from authenticated user browsers to attacker-controlled domains shortly after loading AEM-rendered pages.
Session cookies for AEM appearing in referer or query strings of external traffic captured by web proxies.

Detection Strategies

Review AEM audit logs for content modifications by low-privileged accounts that touch form fields or component properties historically edited only by trusted authors.
Query the JCR repository for property values containing script tags, event handlers, or javascript: URIs across form components.
Deploy Content Security Policy (CSP) reporting to surface script violations that indicate injection attempts against AEM-rendered pages.

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor AEM access logs for repeated POST requests to form submission endpoints from a single low-privileged account.
Alert on browser errors and CSP violation reports originating from AEM domains.
Correlate authoring activity with subsequent anomalous administrator session behavior, such as privilege changes or new account creation.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-46873

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Adobe Experience Manager to the fixed version identified in Adobe Security Advisory APSB25-48.
Audit accounts with authoring or form-submission privileges and revoke access that is no longer required.
Inspect existing form-field content for injected scripts and sanitize or remove persisted payloads.

Patch Information

Adobe released patched builds addressing this issue in bulletin APSB25-48. Customers on AEM Cloud Service receive the fix through the standard release channel. On-premises operators of AEM 6.5.22 and earlier must apply the vendor-supplied service pack referenced in the advisory.

Workarounds

Enforce a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts and restricts script sources to trusted origins.
Place a web application firewall (WAF) in front of AEM with rules that block form submissions containing script tags or event-handler attributes.
Restrict authoring and form-submission roles to trusted users pending patch deployment.

bash

# Example CSP header to reduce stored XSS impact in AEM responses
Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'; object-src 'none'; base-uri 'self'; frame-ancestors 'self'; report-uri /csp-report