CVE-2021-28625
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAdobe Experience Manager Cloud Service offering, as well as versions 6.5.8.0 (and below) is affected by a Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability that could be abused by an attacker to inject malicious scripts into vulnerable form fields. Malicious JavaScript may be executed in a victim’s browser when they browse to the page containing the vulnerable field.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceAdobe Experience Manager Cloud Service and versions 6.5.8.0 and below contain a stored/reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in form fields. Attackers can inject malicious JavaScript payloads into vulnerable form input fields which then execute in victim browsers when they view the affected page.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 6.5.8.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify AEM versionAccess the AEM welcome page or check the product version through the system console (/system/console/systeminfo) to determine if the installed version is 6.5.8.0 or belowAffected if The installed version is 6.5.8.0 or any version below 6.5.8.0
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Identify custom form componentsReview the AEM component repository for any custom form components, especially those in /apps or /libs that handle user input in form fieldsAffected if Custom form components exist that accept user input without input validation or output encoding
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Check form field configurationInspect form components in AEM through the CRXDE Lite or via the Component Console to verify if input validation rules and XSS protection are configured on form input fieldsAffected if Form input fields lack input validation patterns or XSS protection settings
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Review content structure for vulnerable formsNavigate to pages containing custom forms in AEM and inspect the content structure (CRXDE Lite) to see if form fields store unencoded user inputAffected if Form field data is stored in the repository without proper encoding or validation rules applied
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Test for XSS in form inputsIf you have access to a non-production environment, attempt to insert a benign script payload (such as <script>alert(1)</script>) into form input fields and verify whether it executes when the form is renderedAffected if The injected script executes or renders unescaped in the browser output
You are affected if your AEM version is 6.5.8.0 or below AND you have custom or unprotected form fields that accept user input without proper input validation and output encoding.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedApply available Adobe security patches for AEM. Implement input validation and output encoding on all form fields to prevent script injection. Consider using AEM's built-in XSS protection utilities and Content Security Policy headers.
AEM 6.5 Service Pack 9.0 or later / Latest AEM Cloud Service release
- Check Adobe Security Bulletin (APSB21-104 or subsequent) for this CVE at helps.adobe.com for exact patch version
- If on AEM 6.5, upgrade to the latest AEM 6.5 Service Pack (6.5.9.0 or later) which includes the security fix
- For AEM Cloud Service, ensure your environment is on the latest release which should include the patch
- After upgrade, verify the fix by testing the vulnerable form fields with XSS payloads to confirm sanitization is working
- Review AEM release notes for security fixes included in the target version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,504.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-28625 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-28625 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data