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Experience ManagerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2024-36235

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 DOM-based Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability. This vulnerability could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the context of the victim's browser session. Exploitation of this issue typically requires user interaction, such as convincing a user to click on a specially crafted link or to submit a form that causes the execution of the malicious script.

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

DOM-based Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.20 and earlier allows attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the context of a victim's browser session through specially crafted links or malicious form submissions.

MitigationApply the vendor patch (upgrade to AEM 6.5.21 or later) and implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers as defense-in-depth to mitigate XSS vulnerabilities.

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. Identify AEM product version
    Access the AEM Welcome page or check the com.adobe.version.properties file in the crx-quickstart folder. In AEM as a Cloud Service, check the release information in Cloud Manager.
    Affected if The installed version is 6.5.20 or earlier, or falls below the 2024.5 release for AEM as a Cloud Service.
  2. Review system information file
    Locate the version file at crx-quickstart/conf/system.properties or check through the AEM Web Console (Help > System Information) to retrieve the exact build version.
    Affected if The reported version number is lower than 6.5.21 or the 2024.5 release tag.
  3. Inspect Forms module configuration
    Navigate to AEM Forms at /aem/forms (or /libs/fd/fb) to determine if Adobe Forms or Adaptive Forms functionality is enabled and accessible.
    Affected if Forms functionality is enabled and accessible to unauthenticated or low-privilege users through external-facing endpoints.
  4. Check for XSS attack indicators in request logs
    Review AEM access logs (request.log or access.log) in crx-quickstart/logs for suspicious URL patterns containing script tags, javascript:, or event handlers in query parameters.
    Affected if Malicious XSS payloads are observed in recent HTTP requests to AEM endpoints.

If the installed AEM version is below 6.5.21 (for 6.x releases) or below 2024.5 (for Cloud Service), the environment is vulnerable to this DOM-based XSS flaw.

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 (upgrade to AEM 6.5.21 or later) and implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers as defense-in-depth to mitigate XSS vulnerabilities.

Recommended fix High confidence

AEM 6.5.21 (for 6.5.x) or AEM 2024.5 (for Cloud Service)

  1. 1. Identify the current Adobe Experience Manager version in use
  2. 2. For AEM 6.5.x deployments: Upgrade to AEM 6.5.21 or later
  3. 3. For AEM as a Cloud Service deployments: Upgrade to 2024.5 release or later
  4. 4. After upgrade, verify the XSS vulnerability is remediated by testing with crafted scripts
  5. 5. Ensure all custom code and third-party integrations are tested post-upgrade
Caveat Review Adobe's release notes for 6.5.21 and 2024.5 for any breaking changes or migration requirements before upgrading

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

Fix this in Experience Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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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-2024-36235 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