CVE-2025-46982 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 the affected page containing the malicious payload, the injected script executes in their browser context. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79, indicating improper neutralization of input during web page generation. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.4 (medium severity), with the vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N, meaning the attack can be launched remotely over the network with low complexity, requires low privileges, and user interaction (visiting the malicious page) is necessary. The vulnerability impacts confidentiality and integrity by potentially allowing theft of session tokens, user credentials, or manipulation of displayed content, but does not affect availability. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no official patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability's scope is changed (S:C), indicating that exploitation could affect resources beyond the vulnerable component, such as other users' sessions or data. Given AEM's role as a content management system widely used for enterprise web portals, this vulnerability could be leveraged for targeted attacks, phishing, or lateral movement within affected organizations.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability can be significant, especially for those relying on Adobe Experience Manager to manage public-facing websites, intranets, or customer portals. Successful exploitation could lead to theft of sensitive user information, session hijacking, and unauthorized actions performed on behalf of legitimate users. This could damage organizational reputation, lead to regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR breaches due to data leakage), and cause financial losses. Since AEM is often used by government agencies, financial institutions, and large enterprises in Europe, the risk of targeted attacks exploiting this vulnerability is heightened. The requirement for low privileges to exploit and the persistent nature of stored XSS increase the attack surface. Additionally, the vulnerability could be used as a foothold for further attacks within the network if attackers leverage stolen credentials or session tokens.

European organizations should prioritize the following mitigations: 1) Immediately audit all AEM instances to identify versions 6.5.22 or earlier and plan for an upgrade to the latest patched version 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 and reduce the impact of XSS attacks. 4) Conduct regular security assessments and penetration tests focusing on web application vulnerabilities, including stored XSS. 5) Educate users and administrators on recognizing phishing attempts and suspicious website behavior. 6) Monitor web server and application logs for unusual input patterns or error messages that may indicate exploitation attempts. 7) If immediate patching is not possible, consider temporary mitigations such as disabling vulnerable form fields or restricting access to the affected AEM components to trusted users only. 8) Coordinate with Adobe support for timely updates and advisories.