Overview
The software industry is on high alert due to the discovery of a new high-severity vulnerability, CVE-2025-49533. This vulnerability affects Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) versions 6.5.23.0 and earlier. Notably, this vulnerability does not require user interaction to be exploited and could potentially lead to arbitrary code execution by an attacker. This issue is of high concern as it directly threatens the integrity of systems, the confidentiality of data, and the availability of services provided by Adobe Experience Manager.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-49533
Severity: Critical, CVSS Score: 9.8
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Potential system compromise and data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Adobe Experience Manager | 6.5.23.0 and earlier versions
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability lies in the deserialization of untrusted data. Deserialization is the process of converting data from a flat format into an object. If untrusted data is deserialized, it could lead to arbitrary code execution. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending maliciously crafted data to a vulnerable application. Once this data is deserialized, it can trigger the execution of arbitrary code, leading to potential system compromise.
Conceptual Example Code
The exploit would be carried out over the network, potentially via a malicious HTTP request. Here’s a conceptual example of how an HTTP request exploiting this vulnerability might look:
POST /aem/api/endpoint HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/java-serialized-object
{ "serialized_object": "base64_encoded_malicious_object" }In this example, the attacker sends an HTTP POST request to a vulnerable endpoint on the target system. The `Content-Type` header indicates that the request body contains a serialized Java object. The serialized object, when deserialized by the vulnerable application, could lead to arbitrary code execution.
Mitigation and Remediation
The most effective mitigation for this vulnerability is to apply the vendor-supplied patch. Adobe has been made aware of this vulnerability and has issued a patch to fix it. Organizations using Adobe Experience Manager should update to the latest version as soon as possible. As a temporary measure, organizations can also implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to detect and block attempts to exploit this vulnerability. However, this should be seen as an interim solution until the patch can be applied.
In conclusion, CVE-2025-49533 is a critical vulnerability that can lead to potential system compromise and data leakage, and needs urgent attention. Organizations are advised to adopt a proactive approach and apply the patch as soon as possible to mitigate the risk associated with this vulnerability.