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Experience ManagerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2024-36168

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-06-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.5.21 / 2024.5 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
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.20 and earlier are affected by a stored 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 confidence

Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.20 and earlier contain a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability. Attackers can inject malicious JavaScript into form fields, which persists in the system. When victims browse to pages containing these compromised fields, the malicious script executes in their browsers, potentially stealing session cookies, credentials, or performing actions on behalf of the user.

MitigationApply the vendor patch (AEM 6.5.21 or later). Until patched, implement output encoding for all form field outputs and consider adding WAF rules to detect and block XSS payloads in form submissions.

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:< 6.5.21< 2024.5

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. Check installed Adobe Experience Manager version
    Access the AEM Web Console (Go to /system/console/about) or locate the version.properties file in the crx-quickstart directory. The version is displayed as a number like 6.5.20, 6.5.21, 2024.4, or 2024.5.
    Affected if The installed version is 6.5.20 or earlier, or between 6.5.21 and 2024.4 (if using the 2024.x release track). Versions 6.5.21 and 2024.5 and later are not affected.
  2. Identify custom or editable form fields in the system
    Review AEM component definitions under /apps or /libs that contain form input components (text fields, textarea, email, number inputs). Check for any form-based workflows or user-generated content areas.
    Affected if Form fields exist that accept user input without explicit output encoding configured in the component's HTL or JSP rendering logic.
  3. Inspect form data storage in the repository
    Using CRXDE Lite (accessible at /crx/de), navigate to content nodes where form submissions are stored (commonly under /content or custom content structures). Examine nodes for any script tags or JavaScript code within text property values.
    Affected if Repository nodes contain unsanitized HTML or script tags embedded in form field data, indicating exploitation has occurred.
  4. Review AEM audit and request logs for XSS patterns
    Examine audit.log or request.log files in the crx-quickstart/logs directory. Search for form submission endpoints (POST requests) containing common XSS patterns like <script, javascript:, onerror=, or onload=.
    Affected if Logs contain POST submissions to form endpoints with XSS payload patterns in the parameter values.

Your environment is affected if the installed AEM version is below 6.5.21 (or below 2024.5 for the 2024 release track) AND the system hosts form fields that accept user input without output encoding.

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 6.5.21 / 2024.5 or later
Fixed in 6.5.212024.5
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patch (AEM 6.5.21 or later). Until patched, implement output encoding for all form field outputs and consider adding WAF rules to detect and block XSS payloads in form submissions.

Recommended fix High confidence

AEM 6.5.21 or AEM 2024.5 (depending on current release line)

  1. 1. Identify current Adobe Experience Manager version by checking the AEM welcome page or system console
  2. 2. Determine which release line you are on (6.5.x branch or 2024.x releases)
  3. 3. For AEM 6.5.x users: Plan upgrade to version 6.5.21 or later
  4. 4. For AEM 2024.x users: Plan upgrade to version 2024.5 or later
  5. 5. Perform the upgrade in a non-production/staging environment first
  6. 6. Test critical workflows and forms to ensure functionality is maintained after upgrade
  7. 7. After successful testing in staging, schedule production upgrade
  8. 8. Verify the XSS vulnerability is remediated by attempting to inject script in the previously vulnerable form fields
Caveat Review Adobe's release notes for the target version to check for breaking changes and deprecated features before upgrading

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

Fix this in Experience Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
27.0 hours of engineering $4,800
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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-2024-36168 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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