Description

Adobe Experience Manager is affected by an Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference ('XXE') vulnerability that could result in privilege escalation. A low-privileged attacker could exploit this vulnerability to gain elevated access to internal resources. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction. Scope is changed.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "9.6",
  "pubDate": "2026-10-13T20:19:10.030Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-10-13T20:19:10.030Z",
  "executiveSummary": "Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) is susceptible to an Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (XXE) vulnerability, classified as a critical security flaw.\nThis vulnerability allows an unauthenticated or low-privileged attacker to perform unauthorized actions by injecting malicious XML entities into inputs processed by the XML parser.\nThe exploitation results in a change of scope, potentially leading to unauthorized privilege escalation and providing the attacker with elevated access to internal system resources.\nThis vulnerability does not require user interaction, making it highly attractive for automated exploitation attempts.\nThe primary risk involves the unauthorized disclosure of local files, server-side request forgery (SSRF), or service disruption, which may subsequently be leveraged to achieve full system compromise through privilege escalation.\nOrganizations using AEM must prioritize identifying affected instances and applying recommended vendor-provided patches or hardening configurations to mitigate the risk of exploitation.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability originates from the insecure configuration of XML parsers within Adobe Experience Manager, specifically when processing user-supplied XML data without adequate validation or restriction of Document Type Definitions (DTD).\nAn XXE vulnerability occurs when an XML parser is configured to resolve external entities defined within a document. By crafting a malicious XML payload containing an `ENTITY` declaration that points to internal system files (e.g., /etc/passwd or configuration files) or internal network resources, an attacker can coerce the application into returning the contents of these files or performing requests on the attacker's behalf.\nThe attack flow begins when an attacker identifies an endpoint within AEM that consumes XML input, such as API interfaces, metadata importers, or configuration management tools. The attacker submits a malicious XML document containing a `DOCTYPE` declaration that defines an external entity.\nWhen the AEM XML parser processes this document, it attempts to resolve the external entity. If the parser is not configured to disable DTD processing or external entity resolution, it performs the requested operation—such as reading local filesystem content—and embeds the result into the application response or utilizes it during subsequent processing logic.\nThe exploitation facilitates privilege escalation by allowing the attacker to access sensitive configuration files containing credentials, system tokens, or internal service maps. Once these resources are obtained, the attacker can leverage them to authenticate as a higher-privileged user or gain unauthorized access to internal administrative functions.\nThe 'Scope Changed' characteristic of this vulnerability indicates that the exploit's impact extends beyond the initial security boundary, potentially affecting components or internal services that are normally protected from the attacker's original access level.\nBecause the vulnerability requires no user interaction, the attack vector is limited only by the attacker's ability to reach the vulnerable endpoint and the XML parser's default behavior, which permits external entity resolution."
}