CVE-2026-27242
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 6.5.23 and earlier are affected by a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability that could be abused by a low-privileged 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 confidenceAdobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.23 and earlier contain a stored Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability where low-privileged users can inject malicious JavaScript into form fields. The malicious payload persists on the server and executes in victim users' browsers when they view pages containing the compromised fields.
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< 6.5.24.0< 2026.2.0= 6.5CVSS 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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Determine installed AEM versionAccess the AEM System Information console (typically at /system/console/status) or check the version.properties file in the crx-quickstart folder. Compare the version number to the affected ranges: 6.5.23 and earlier, or exactly version 6.5, or any version below 6.5.24.0 or below 2026.2.0.Affected if The installed version falls within < 6.5.24.0, < 2026.2.0, or = 6.5 (meaning 6.5.23 or earlier)
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Identify active user accounts with low privilegesNavigate to the AEM User Administration console (typically at /libs/granite/security/content/useradmin) and review accounts assigned to groups such as 'content-authors' or 'contributors' who have form submission capabilities but limited administrative rights.Affected if Low-privilege user accounts exist who can access and submit data to form-based workflows or content pages
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Check if Forms or Adaptive Forms feature is enabledReview the AEM Features console or check for the presence of form-related bundles and content structures under /libs/fd or /apps/forms in the repository. Verify whether forms are published and accessible to unauthenticated or low-privileged users.Affected if Forms or Adaptive Forms are enabled and accessible to low-privilege users or the public
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Inspect stored form data for suspicious contentQuery the repository (via CRXDE Lite at /crx/de or the Query Builder) for content nodes under form submission paths (commonly under /content/forms or custom form containers). Look for unexpected script tags, javascript: URIs, or event handler attributes in field values.Affected if Form submission nodes contain unsanitized script tags, javascript: handlers, or HTML markup in field values that could execute in other users' browsers
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Verify Content Security Policy headersCheck the Apache Sling filter configuration or the Dispatcher configuration for CSP header definitions. Look for 'script-src' policies that allow 'unsafe-inline' or overly permissive source domains.Affected if CSP headers are missing, not configured, or allow inline script execution (unsafe-inline)
You are affected if your AEM version is 6.5.23 or earlier (including exact version 6.5), low-privilege users can submit to forms, and the stored XSS payload exists in form field data without CSP protection.
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 · scoped6.5.24.02026.2.0
Upgrade AEM to a version beyond 6.5.23 that includes the security fix, and implement input validation/sanitization on form fields alongside Content Security Policy headers.
Upgrade to AEM 6.5.24.0 or later, or AEM 2026.2.0 or later
- 1. Back up your current AEM instance including the repository, configuration, and custom code.
- 2. Review the Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.24.0 or 2026.2.0 release notes for any migration requirements or known issues.
- 3. Stop the AEM instance and all related services.
- 4. Deploy the new version (6.5.24.0 or later / 2026.2.0 or later) using your standard deployment process.
- 5. Start the AEM instance and verify all services are running correctly.
- 6. Test the form fields that were previously vulnerable to ensure the XSS fix is functioning.
- 7. Validate that custom components, workflows, and integrations still function as expected.
- 8. Clear browser caches and test with multiple browsers to confirm the fix.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA5.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-27242 — 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-2026-27242 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