CVE-2023-22253
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 · uneditedExperience Manager versions 6.5.15.0 (and earlier) are affected by a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability. If a low-privileged 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.
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 confidenceReflected XSS vulnerability in Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.15.0 and earlier versions. An attacker can craft a malicious URL containing JavaScript payloads that execute within a victim's browser when they visit the vulnerable page, due to improper input sanitization.
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< 6.5.16.0< 2023.1.0CVSS 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 installed AEM versionAccess the AEM Welcome page or check the system/console for the product version information, typically found at /libs/granite/core/content/login.html or via the About Adobe Experience Manager dialog in the top-right help menuAffected if The displayed version is 6.5.15.0 or earlier, or the AEM Cloud Service version is before 2023.1.0
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Verify AEM Cloud Service versionCheck the Cloud Manager UI or the environment details page for the AEM Cloud Service release version numberAffected if The Cloud Service version is earlier than 2023.1.0
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Inspect URL parameter handlingReview the AEM proxy servlet configuration or custom sling servlets that process URL query parameters, looking for endpoints that reflect URL parameters without proper encoding. Check servlet JSP files for unescaped request parameter output using EL expressionsAffected if URL parameters from the request are directly rendered in HTML responses without HTML encoding or validation routines
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Audit recent web logs for XSS patternsSearch access logs (typically in /var/audit or the dispatcher logs) for suspicious URL patterns containing script tags or javascript: in query parameters pointing to AEM endpointsAffected if Malicious XSS payload requests are found in logs, indicating active exploitation attempts or vulnerability testing
You are affected if your AEM 6.5 version is 6.5.15.0 or earlier, or your AEM Cloud Service is before version 2023.1.0, and the application reflects URL parameters in responses without sanitization.
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 · scoped6.5.16.02023.1.0
Apply the vendor patch or upgrade Adobe Experience Manager beyond version 6.5.15.0. Implement URL parameter validation and output encoding as a defense-in-depth measure.
AEM 6.5.16.0 (on-premise) or AEM Cloud Service 2023.1.0+
- Identify your current AEM version in the System Overview console or by checking the jar file properties
- For on-premise AEM: Upgrade to AEM 6.5.16.0 or later by replacing the quickstart jar and following the standard upgrade procedure
- For AEM Cloud Service: Ensure your environment is updated to the 2023.1.0 release or later through Cloud Manager
- After upgrade, verify the new version number in the System Overview to confirm the patch was applied
- Test that the application functions correctly post-upgrade, particularly any custom components that may handle URL parameters
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-22253 — 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-2023-22253 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
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