CVE-2022-42364 is a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) version 6.5.14 and earlier. This vulnerability arises when an attacker crafts a malicious URL that references a vulnerable page within AEM. If a low-privileged attacker convinces a victim to visit this URL, the malicious JavaScript embedded in the URL can execute within the victim's browser context. Reflected XSS vulnerabilities occur when untrusted user input is immediately returned by a web application without proper sanitization or encoding, allowing the injection and execution of arbitrary scripts. In this case, the vulnerability affects the web interface of Adobe Experience Manager, a widely used content management system for building websites, mobile apps, and forms. The attack vector requires the victim to interact with the malicious URL, typically through social engineering or phishing. The impact of such an attack can include session hijacking, credential theft, unauthorized actions on behalf of the user, and distribution of malware. Notably, this vulnerability does not require the attacker to have elevated privileges within the system, increasing its accessibility. However, there are no known exploits in the wild at this time, and Adobe has not provided a patch link in the provided data, indicating that remediation may require manual mitigation or awaiting an official update. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-79, which is a common and well-understood web application security issue.

For European organizations using Adobe Experience Manager, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the confidentiality and integrity of user sessions and data. Since AEM is often used by enterprises, government agencies, and large institutions to manage public-facing websites and internal portals, exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive information, defacement of websites, or distribution of malicious content to end users. The reflected XSS can facilitate phishing campaigns targeting employees or customers, potentially leading to credential compromise or further network intrusion. The impact on availability is generally limited for reflected XSS, but reputational damage and loss of user trust can be severe. Organizations in sectors such as finance, healthcare, and public administration, which rely heavily on secure web interactions, may face regulatory and compliance repercussions under GDPR if personal data is compromised. Moreover, the ease of exploitation—requiring only that a victim clicks a malicious link—makes this vulnerability a practical threat vector, especially in environments where user awareness is low or phishing defenses are insufficient.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Immediately review and apply any available Adobe patches or updates for Experience Manager, prioritizing upgrading to versions beyond 6.5.14. 2) If patches are not yet available, implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious URL parameters that could carry malicious scripts targeting vulnerable AEM pages. 3) Conduct a thorough audit of all input handling and output encoding mechanisms within custom AEM components to ensure proper sanitization against XSS. 4) Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of inline scripts and reduce the impact of potential XSS payloads. 5) Enhance user awareness training focused on phishing and social engineering to reduce the likelihood of users clicking malicious links. 6) Monitor web server and application logs for unusual URL patterns or repeated access attempts to vulnerable endpoints. 7) Segment and restrict access to AEM administrative interfaces to minimize exposure. 8) Consider deploying browser isolation or script-blocking extensions for high-risk user groups. These targeted actions go beyond generic advice by addressing both technical and human factors specific to the nature of this reflected XSS vulnerability in AEM.