CVE-2025-46901: Adobe Experience Manager XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-46901 Overview

Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) versions 6.5.22 and earlier contain a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability [CWE-79]. A low-privileged attacker can inject malicious JavaScript into vulnerable form fields. The payload executes in a victim's browser when they load the page containing the affected field. The flaw affects both on-premises Adobe Experience Manager and AEM Cloud Service deployments. Exploitation requires user interaction and scope change, meaning the injected script can impact resources beyond the vulnerable component. Adobe addressed the issue in security advisory APSB25-48.

Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers with low privileges can persist malicious JavaScript in AEM form fields, hijacking sessions and executing actions in the context of any user who views the affected page.

Affected Products

Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.22 and earlier (on-premises)
Adobe Experience Manager Cloud Service (AEM as a Cloud Service)
AEM Forms components handling stored user input

Discovery Timeline

2025-06-10 - CVE-2025-46901 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2025-06-10 - Adobe publishes security advisory APSB25-48
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-46901

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) flaw classified under [CWE-79]: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation. AEM fails to sanitize or encode attacker-controlled content submitted through certain form fields. The unsanitized input is persisted to the content repository and rendered directly into the HTML response when other users load the page. Because the payload lives in server-side storage, every subsequent visitor to the affected page executes the injected script.

Exploitation requires an authenticated session with low privileges, such as an author or contributor role, and target user interaction to browse the vulnerable page. The scope change reflected in the CVSS metrics indicates the injected script can access data or perform actions outside the vulnerable component's security boundary, including author or administrator interfaces.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing output encoding and input validation on specific form field handlers within AEM. When form data is written to the Java Content Repository (JCR) and later re-rendered by AEM's HTL/JSP templates, HTML control characters in attacker-supplied values are not neutralized. This allows <script> tags and event handler attributes to be reflected verbatim into the DOM.

Attack Vector

An attacker with low-privileged authenticated access submits a crafted payload into a vulnerable form field. The payload is stored in the AEM repository. When a victim, potentially a higher-privileged administrator, navigates to the page rendering that field, the browser parses and executes the attacker's JavaScript. The attacker can steal session tokens, perform CSRF-style actions, or pivot to administrative functions.

Refer to the Adobe Security Advisory APSB25-48 for vendor technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-46901

Indicators of Compromise

Form field values in the AEM JCR containing HTML tags such as <script>, <img onerror=>, or <svg onload=>
Outbound HTTP requests from author or publish instances to unfamiliar domains carrying cookie or token data
Unexpected creation or modification of content nodes by low-privileged AEM users
Browser console errors or CSP violations originating from AEM-rendered pages

Detection Strategies

Audit AEM content repository nodes under /content/ and /content/forms/ for stored payloads containing script tags or JavaScript event handlers
Enable and review AEM Dispatcher and access logs for POST requests to form endpoints containing suspicious characters
Deploy a Content Security Policy (CSP) with reporting to surface inline script execution attempts
Correlate authentication events for low-privileged accounts with content modification activity in the AEM audit log

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward AEM error.log, request.log, and audit.log to a centralized SIEM for retention and correlation
Alert on modifications to form templates and container components performed outside standard change windows
Monitor for anomalous session activity from author accounts, including impossible travel or concurrent sessions

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-46901

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Adobe Experience Manager to the version specified in Adobe Security Advisory APSB25-48
For AEM as a Cloud Service, verify the environment is running the latest Adobe-managed release
Review author and contributor account privileges and remove unnecessary form-editing permissions
Audit existing form content for previously injected payloads and remove any malicious entries

Patch Information

Adobe released patched builds for Adobe Experience Manager 6.5 in June 2025 as part of advisory APSB25-48. AEM as a Cloud Service customers receive the fix automatically through Adobe's managed release channel. Administrators of on-premises deployments must apply the AEM 6.5 Service Pack that supersedes version 6.5.22.

Workarounds

Enforce a strict Content Security Policy (CSP) that disallows inline scripts and restricts script sources to trusted origins
Place a web application firewall (WAF) in front of AEM author and publish instances to filter payloads containing script tags and JavaScript event handlers
Restrict access to AEM author interfaces to trusted networks via VPN or IP allowlisting until patching is complete
Apply the principle of least privilege by revoking form authoring rights from accounts that do not require them

bash

# Example Apache Dispatcher rule to block obvious XSS payloads in form POSTs
# Place in dispatcher.any under /filter section
/0100 { /type "deny" /method "POST" /url '*<script*' }
/0101 { /type "deny" /method "POST" /url '*javascript:*' }
/0102 { /type "deny" /method "POST" /url '*onerror=*' }