# CVE-2021-40722: AEM Forms Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference

> An attacker can exploit an XML External Entity vulnerability in Adobe Experience Manager Forms to achieve remote code execution.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Jan 2022
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-7h8f-9m99-6cfg

## What is CVE-2021-40722?

CVE-2021-40722 is a critical vulnerability in Adobe Experience Manager, published on 13 Jan 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

AEM Forms Cloud Service offering, as well as version 6.5.10.0 (and below) are affected by an XML External Entity (XXE) injection vulnerability that could be abused by an attacker to achieve RCE.

Weakness: CWE-611 (Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-40722?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe Experience Manager Cloud Service.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-40722?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-40722 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-40722 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-40722 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Adobe Experience Manager

- [CVE-2026-90532](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-90532/): Adobe Experience Manager | Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-105895](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-105895/): Adobe Experience Manager | Improper Input Validation (CWE-20) (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2026-19232](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-19232/): Adobe Experience Manager | Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2025-49533](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49533/): Adobe Experience Manager (MS) | Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502) (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-8088](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-8088/): Command injection in Adobe Experience Manager (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-40722 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-40722 is a critical vulnerability in Adobe Experience Manager, published on 13 Jan 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-40722 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Adobe Experience Manager. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40722/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40722/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-40722
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-40722
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-40722

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40722/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.