CVE-2022-28851
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 versions 6.5.13.0 (and earlier) is affected by a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability. If an attacker is able to convince a victim to visit a URL referencing a vulnerable page, malicious JavaScript content may be executed within the context of the victim's browser. Exploitation of this issue requires low-privilege access to AEM.
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 · moderate confidenceA reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.13.0 and earlier allows low-privilege authenticated attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code into vulnerable page URLs. When victims click these crafted links, the malicious script executes within their browser context, potentially enabling session hijacking or data theft.
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< 6.5.14.0CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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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Identify AEM installation versionAccess the AEM Welcome page (http://hostname:port/libs/granite/core/content/login.html) and look for the version number in the footer, or check the version.properties file in the crx-quickstart folder. Alternatively, query the Version Info servlet at /system/console/bundles or check the package manager for the core AEM package version.Affected if The installed version is older than 6.5.14.0 (for example, 6.5.13.0, 6.5.12.0, or earlier)
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Verify AEM is accessible over networkConfirm the AEM instance is reachable via HTTP/HTTPS on its published ports (typically 4502 for author, 4503 for publish). Attempt to access the login page to confirm the web application is running.Affected if The AEM instance is publicly or internally accessible without proper network segmentation
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Confirm low-privilege user access existsCheck if there are any user accounts with limited permissions (such as content-authors, guests, or custom low-privilege groups) that can access the AEM interface. Review user/group permissions in the AEM User Admin console at /security/users.html or /security/groups.html.Affected if Low-privilege authenticated users (non-admin) can access the AEM interface and navigate to vulnerable pages
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Identify exposed URL parameters susceptible to reflected XSSReview application logs and access logs (found in logs/access.log and logs/error.log within the crx-quickstart directory) for URL patterns containing user-supplied parameters. Examine any custom components or third-party integrations that accept input via URL query strings.Affected if URL parameters from user input are reflected in the response without proper encoding, allowing script injection via crafted URLs
You are affected if your AEM version is older than 6.5.14.0 AND low-privilege authenticated users can access the application where malicious URL parameters can be reflected back to victims.
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 · scoped6.5.14.0
Apply Adobe's security hotfix (AEM 6.5.14.0 or later) to all affected AEM instances. Additionally, implement output encoding and input validation on the affected endpoints as a defense-in-depth measure.
6.5.14.0
- 1. Identify the current Adobe Experience Manager version by checking the AEM welcome page or system console
- 2. Plan and schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade process
- 3. Perform a complete backup of the AEM instance including the content repository and configuration
- 4. Upgrade Adobe Experience Manager to version 6.5.14.0 or later following Adobe's official upgrade documentation
- 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the AEM version in the system console
- 6. Test that the reflected XSS vulnerability is no longer exploitable by attempting to inject malicious JavaScript via URL parameters that previously triggered the vulnerability
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,128.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-28851 — 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-2022-28851 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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- 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