Adobe Experience Manager (MS) versions 6.5.23.0 and earlier are affected by a Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability that could lead to arbitrary code execution by an attacker. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction. Scope is unchanged.
Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) versions 6.5.23.0 and earlier are vulnerable to a critical Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability. Successful exploitation allows an attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution on the server without requiring any user interaction, potentially leading to complete system compromise and data exfiltration.
Step 1: Payload Creation: The attacker crafts a malicious serialized object (e.g., a Java object) containing code designed to execute commands on the server. This payload is specifically designed to exploit the deserialization vulnerability.
Step 2: Payload Delivery: The attacker sends the malicious serialized object to the vulnerable AEM instance. This could be achieved through various means, such as uploading a specially crafted file, sending a malicious request, or exploiting an existing file upload functionality.
Step 3: Deserialization Trigger: The AEM instance processes the attacker's input, triggering the deserialization process. This is likely initiated by a specific function or component within AEM that handles incoming data.
Step 4: Code Execution: The deserialization process executes the malicious code embedded within the attacker's serialized object. This results in arbitrary code execution on the server, allowing the attacker to execute commands, access sensitive data, or gain control of the system.
Step 5: Post-Exploitation: The attacker can then use the code execution to perform various malicious activities, such as installing backdoors, exfiltrating data, or further compromising the network.
The vulnerability stems from insecure deserialization of user-supplied data within AEM. Specifically, the application fails to properly validate the integrity and origin of serialized objects before deserializing them. This allows an attacker to craft malicious serialized objects that, when deserialized by the vulnerable AEM instance, trigger the execution of arbitrary code on the server. The root cause lies in the use of a deserialization mechanism (likely Java's ObjectInputStream or similar) that doesn't adequately filter or sanitize the input data, leading to the execution of attacker-controlled code. This is a classic example of a deserialization vulnerability, where the application trusts the serialized data and executes code embedded within it. The lack of proper input validation and sanitization allows the attacker to inject malicious payloads into the deserialization process, resulting in remote code execution (RCE). The specific function or logic flaw is the absence of a secure deserialization implementation, allowing for the execution of arbitrary Java code.