Experience ManagerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-22256

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.5.16.0 / 2023.1.0 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 · unedited
Experience Manager versions 6.5.15.0 (and earlier) are affected by a URL Redirection to Untrusted Site ('Open Redirect') vulnerability. A low-privilege authenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to redirect users to malicious websites. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction.

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 confidence

Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.15.0 and earlier contain an open redirect vulnerability where a low-privilege authenticated attacker can craft URLs that redirect users to malicious external websites. The attack requires user interaction, typically a user clicking on a crafted link.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Experience Manager to version 6.5.16.0 or later to obtain the security patch. Additionally, implement URL validation to ensure all redirect targets are relative paths or point to trusted, allowlisted domains.

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
Experience ManagerApplication
Affected:< 6.5.16.0
Experience Manager Cloud ServiceApplication
Affected:< 2023.1.0

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify AEM deployment type
    Determine whether the installation is Adobe Experience Manager on-premise or Adobe Experience Manager Cloud Service. Check your deployment documentation or AEM system information.
    Affected if The deployment is AEM Cloud Service (version format differs from on-premise)
  2. Determine the installed AEM version
    Access AEM's system information or version page (typically available through the Help menu or /system/console/info endpoint). Record the full version number displayed.
    Affected if The exact version number cannot be determined or is not visible in the system information
  3. Compare on-premise version to affected range
    If running on-premise AEM, compare the installed version against the affected range: any version below 6.5.16.0 is vulnerable.
    Affected if Installed version is 6.5.15.0 or earlier (on-premise)
  4. Compare Cloud Service version to affected range
    If running AEM Cloud Service, identify the release version (typically shown in Cloud Manager or the version info). Compare against the affected range: any version before 2023.1.0 is vulnerable.
    Affected if Installed version is before 2023.1.0 (Cloud Service)

The environment is affected if running AEM on-premise version below 6.5.16.0 or AEM Cloud Service version below 2023.1.0, as these versions allow low-privilege authenticated attackers to craft redirect URLs to external malicious sites.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.5.16.0 / 2023.1.0 or later
Fixed in 6.5.16.02023.1.0
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Experience Manager to version 6.5.16.0 or later to obtain the security patch. Additionally, implement URL validation to ensure all redirect targets are relative paths or point to trusted, allowlisted domains.

Recommended fix High confidence

AEM 6.5.16.0 (on-premises) or AEM Cloud Service 2023.1.0

  1. Verify current AEM version by checking the Help > About Adobe Experience Manager page
  2. Review the upgrade documentation for AEM 6.5.16.0 at helpx.adobe.com or the AEM Cloud Service release notes
  3. Create a full backup of the AEM instance including repository, database, and configurations
  4. Test the upgrade in a staging environment before production deployment
  5. For AEM 6.5 on-premises: Upgrade to version 6.5.16.0 or later following the standard upgrade procedure
  6. For AEM Cloud Service: The service automatically receives updates; ensure your environment is on 2023.1.0 release or later
  7. Verify the upgrade was successful and test that the open redirect vulnerability is resolved
  8. Deploy the updated version to production after validation
Caveat Minor version upgrades typically have minimal breaking changes; review Adobe's 6.5.16.0 release notes for any specific compatibility notes or deprecated features

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Experience Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-22256 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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