CVE-2025-46885 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability affecting Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) versions 6.5.22 and earlier. This vulnerability arises from insufficient input sanitization in certain form fields within AEM, allowing a low-privileged attacker to inject malicious JavaScript code that is persistently stored on the server. When a victim user accesses a page containing the compromised form field, the malicious script executes in their browser context. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79, indicating improper neutralization of input during web page generation. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.4 (medium severity), with vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N, meaning the attack can be performed remotely over the network with low attack complexity, requires low privileges but does require user interaction, and impacts confidentiality and integrity with a scope change. The vulnerability does not affect availability. No known exploits are reported in the wild as of the publication date (June 10, 2025), and no official patches have been linked yet. Stored XSS in AEM is particularly concerning because AEM is widely used for managing enterprise web content, and exploitation could lead to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized actions performed on behalf of users with elevated privileges.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability can be significant due to the widespread adoption of Adobe Experience Manager in sectors such as government, finance, healthcare, and large enterprises. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information (confidentiality impact) and manipulation of data or user actions (integrity impact). Given that AEM often hosts public-facing websites and intranet portals, attackers could leverage this vulnerability to target employees or customers via malicious scripts, potentially leading to phishing, credential theft, or lateral movement within corporate networks. The scope change (S:C) indicates that the vulnerability could allow attackers to affect resources beyond their initial privileges, increasing risk. Although availability is not impacted, the breach of confidentiality and integrity could result in regulatory non-compliance under GDPR, reputational damage, and financial losses. The requirement for user interaction means social engineering or phishing may be used to trigger the exploit, which is a common attack vector in Europe. The medium severity score suggests moderate urgency but should not be underestimated given the critical nature of affected systems.

European organizations should prioritize the following mitigation steps: 1) Immediately audit all AEM instances to identify versions 6.5.22 and earlier and plan for urgent upgrades to patched versions once available. 2) Implement strict input validation and output encoding on all user-supplied data in AEM forms to prevent script injection, using context-aware encoding libraries. 3) Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts on web pages served by AEM. 4) Conduct regular security training for users to recognize and avoid phishing attempts that could trigger stored XSS payloads. 5) Monitor web server logs and application behavior for unusual activities indicative of XSS exploitation attempts. 6) Use web application firewalls (WAFs) configured to detect and block common XSS attack patterns targeting AEM. 7) Segregate AEM environments and restrict administrative access to minimize the impact of a compromised account. 8) Prepare incident response plans specifically addressing XSS exploitation scenarios. These measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on proactive detection, user awareness, and layered defenses tailored to AEM deployments.