Security Resilience

CVE-2023-22271

Crypto Weakness in Adobe Experience Manager ≤ 6.5.16.0

Published
22 March 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 5.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0082 56th percentile
Risk Priority 43 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-22271 is a medium-severity Weak Encoding for Password (CWE-261) vulnerability in Adobe Experience Manager. Its CVSS base score is 5.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Query Registry (T1012); ranked in the top 44% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Experience Manager versions 6.5.15.0 (and earlier) are affected by a Weak Cryptography for Passwords vulnerability that can lead to a security feature bypass. A low-privileged attacker can exploit this in order to decrypt a user's password. The attack complexity is…

more

high since a successful exploitation requires to already have in possession this encrypted secret.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1012 Query Registry Discovery
Adversaries may interact with the Windows Registry to gather information about the system, configuration, and installed software.
T1016.001 Internet Connection Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may check for Internet connectivity on compromised systems.
T1021.004 SSH Lateral Movement
Adversaries may use [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
T1021.007 Cloud Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may log into accessible cloud services within a compromised environment using [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
T1021.008 Direct Cloud VM Connections Lateral Movement
Adversaries may leverage [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
T1027.001 Binary Padding Stealth
Adversaries may use binary padding to add junk data and change the on-disk representation of malware.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-48456Same product: Adobe Experience Manager
CVE-2023-48491Same product: Adobe Experience Manager
CVE-2023-48470Same product: Adobe Experience Manager
CVE-2023-48536Same product: Adobe Experience Manager
CVE-2023-48553Same product: Adobe Experience Manager
CVE-2023-48446Same product: Adobe Experience Manager
CVE-2023-48469Same product: Adobe Experience Manager
CVE-2023-48520Same product: Adobe Experience Manager
CVE-2023-48531Same product: Adobe Experience Manager
CVE-2023-29304Same product: Adobe Experience Manager

Affected Assets

adobe
experience manager
≤ 6.5.16.0
adobe
experience manager cloud service
≤ 2023.1.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

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Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

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Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 4 hardening rules · 1 OS baseline
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

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Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-326

Maintaining currency with technologies and practices reduces selection of encryption mechanisms that provide inadequate strength.

addresses: CWE-326

Updated assessments identify when previously adequate encryption strength no longer meets current attack capabilities or compliance drivers.

addresses: CWE-326

Establishment procedures require selection and generation of keys with adequate length and strength for the chosen algorithm.

addresses: CWE-326

Specifies required cryptography types and parameters, preventing selection of inadequate encryption strength.

addresses: CWE-326

Prompt patching corrects inadequate encryption strength when vendors release updates that increase key sizes or algorithm security.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.DS-01 partial match
blocks

Proper cryptographic hashing for data-at-rest directly prevents trivial password encoding while the control addresses broader data protection needs.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

degrades

Requires secure handling and protection of authentication information, directly addressing weak password encoding.

blocks

Requires appropriate use of cryptography, indirectly discouraging weak encoding schemes.

prevents

Enforces secure coding practices that would reject trivial password encoding.

Hardening callouts derived

DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.

  • No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-326, a class-level weakness. Rules are authored against its narrower children: CWE-328.

References