External risk intelligence

Adobe Experience Manager OS Command Injection Vulnerability

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.9)

CVE-2026-103848

Adobe Experience Manager is an enterprise web content management system frequently deployed as a public-facing web application or edge-service portal. Given its role as a platform for managing public-facing digital experiences, it is commonly reachable via the internet in standard deployment patterns.

OS Command Injection

Halo Surface Signal: 4 out of 5 — likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

This advisory concerns a critical security vulnerability in Adobe Experience Manager, a system used for managing digital content. The issue, an OS Command Injection flaw, allows a low-privileged attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system without user interaction, potentially leading to significant compromise.

Attackers can run unauthorized commands on systems.
This affects platforms managing public-facing digital experiences.
Confirming impact is key for executive awareness.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

Attackers can reach this vulnerability through the network, requiring only low privileges to exploit it. By sending specially crafted input to a vulnerable component within Adobe Experience Manager, an attacker can trick the system into executing arbitrary commands. This can lead to significant system compromise, allowing for arbitrary code execution.

Requires network access and low privileges.
Achieved through specially crafted input to a vulnerable component.
Allows arbitrary code execution on the system.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

This vulnerability could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system, impacting the integrity and availability of the Adobe Experience Manager instance. The attacker could potentially gain control over the affected system by leveraging this flaw, leading to unauthorized actions or data manipulation.

System data and service behavior.
Arbitrary code execution without user interaction.
System compromise and unauthorized actions.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

The Adobe Experience Manager platform, often used for public-facing web content, is susceptible to OS Command Injection. Given its critical role, Platform Teams and Security Teams should prioritize identifying all instances of the affected technology, assessing their exposure and business criticality, and confirming ownership for remediation planning.

Platform and Security teams own this issue.
Verify all AEM instances and exposure.
Plan remediation and vendor coordination.

Supplementary metadata

CVSS vector

Validate whether this threat affects your internet-facing exposure.

Halo Threat Intelligence helps prioritize remediation with Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context. Start exposure validation with a free external attack surface trial.

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Frequently asked questions

What is Adobe Experience Manager?

Adobe Experience Manager is an enterprise-grade content management system used to build, manage, and deliver digital experiences across websites, mobile apps, and forms. It serves as a central hub for organizational marketing content, allowing businesses to control large-scale digital assets and web portals for their customers.

What does OS Command Injection mean for CVE-2026-103848?

This vulnerability, classified as CWE-78, occurs when software improperly filters user input before passing it to the underlying operating system. Because the application does not neutralize special characters, an attacker can append their own malicious commands to legitimate requests. This forces the server to execute unauthorized instructions with the privileges of the affected software, effectively bypassing standard application controls.

How do attackers trigger this vulnerability?

An attacker triggers this flaw by sending specially crafted input over the network to a vulnerable component within the system. Successful exploitation does not require the attacker to have administrative access, as even low-privileged accounts can initiate the attack. Crucially, the vulnerability does not require any action from a legitimate user, such as clicking a link or opening a file, to execute.

Is my Adobe Experience Manager instance at risk?

Halo Surface Signal indicates that Adobe Experience Manager is frequently deployed as a public-facing web application or an edge-service portal, making instances reachable via the internet common. If your deployment is exposed to the internet, it is at higher risk. You should prioritize internal audits to determine if your specific AEM instances are accessible to unauthorized network traffic.

What should I do first to address this threat?

Begin by identifying all Adobe Experience Manager instances within your environment. Once you have a complete inventory, assess which systems are internet-facing versus those restricted to internal networks. Coordinate with your platform and security teams to verify current versioning against vendor-provided guidance and ensure you have a clear plan for applying the necessary updates as they become available.

Written by Nicholas Merritt

Nicholas Merritt is VP of Security Solutions at Halo Security. With more than 25 years across application security, vulnerability prioritization, and offensive security, he helps teams translate threat data into practical exposure validation and remediation focus. He authors Halo Threat Intelligence CVE advisories using Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context to prioritize internet-facing risk.