CVE-2025-46889: Adobe Experience Manager Privilege Escalation

CVE-2025-46889 Overview

CVE-2025-46889 affects Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) versions 6.5.22 and earlier. The vulnerability stems from Improper Access Control [CWE-284] and allows a low-privileged attacker to escalate privileges over the network. Exploitation does not require user interaction. A successful attacker gains limited unauthorized elevated access, bypassing security controls enforced by the platform. Adobe published the fix in security bulletin APSB25-48 on June 10, 2025. The issue impacts both on-premises AEM deployments and the AEM Cloud Service configuration listed in the affected CPE records.

Critical Impact
An authenticated low-privileged attacker can bypass access controls in AEM to gain limited elevated privileges without user interaction.

Affected Products

Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.22 and earlier
Adobe Experience Manager Cloud Service (affected releases per APSB25-48)
On-premises AEM 6.5.x deployments

Discovery Timeline

2025-06-10 - Adobe releases security bulletin APSB25-48 with the patch
2025-06-10 - CVE-2025-46889 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
2026-06-17 - Last updated in the NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-46889

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2025-46889 is an Improper Access Control weakness [CWE-284] in Adobe Experience Manager. The vulnerable code path fails to enforce the correct authorization checks when a low-privileged authenticated user issues a crafted request. As a result, the attacker performs actions or accesses resources that should be restricted to higher-privileged roles. The impact is scoped to limited confidentiality and integrity effects, with no direct availability impact. Because the attack originates over the network and requires only low privileges, any user with a valid AEM account on a vulnerable instance can attempt exploitation.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or incomplete authorization enforcement on a specific AEM function or resource. Access decisions rely on client-supplied context or an incomplete role check rather than a server-side authorization policy that validates the caller's effective permissions. Adobe has not published deeper technical detail beyond the classification in APSB25-48.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based. An authenticated low-privileged user sends HTTP requests to the affected AEM endpoint. The server processes the request without confirming the caller has the required role, allowing the attacker to perform privileged actions or read privileged data. No user interaction is required to complete the attack. No public proof-of-concept exploit is available at the time of publication, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

No verified exploit code is available. Refer to the Adobe Security Bulletin APSB25-48 for vendor guidance.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-46889

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected HTTP requests from low-privileged AEM accounts targeting administrative or restricted content paths under /libs/, /apps/, or /etc/.
Authorization-related warnings in AEM error.log or audit.log correlated with successful 200 OK responses.
New or modified nodes, users, or ACL entries created by non-administrative accounts.

Detection Strategies

Review AEM access logs for privilege boundary crossings where standard users successfully invoke administrative Sling servlets or JCR operations.
Correlate authentication events with authorization outcomes to identify role escalations that lack a corresponding administrative action.
Baseline expected behavior per AEM role and alert on deviations, such as content authors accessing configuration or user management endpoints.

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward AEM access.log, audit.log, and dispatcher logs to a centralized SIEM for continuous review.
Enable JCR audit logging for user, group, and ACL modifications and alert on changes performed by non-administrative principals.
Monitor the Adobe security bulletins page for updates to APSB25-48 and related advisories.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-46889

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade AEM 6.5 on-premises installations to the fixed release identified in APSB25-48.
Confirm AEM Cloud Service instances are running the patched release referenced by Adobe.
Audit AEM user and group memberships to remove unnecessary accounts and enforce least privilege.

Patch Information

Adobe addressed CVE-2025-46889 in the AEM update published on June 10, 2025. Apply the version specified in the Adobe Security Bulletin APSB25-48. Cloud Service customers receive the fix through the Adobe-managed release channel. On-premises administrators must apply the AEM 6.5 Service Pack that supersedes 6.5.22.

Workarounds

Restrict network access to AEM author instances so only trusted administrative networks can reach authoring endpoints.
Tighten AEM dispatcher filter rules to deny requests to sensitive paths from unauthenticated or low-privileged sources.
Review and reduce permissions granted to default and low-privileged AEM groups until the patch is applied.

bash

# Example AEM Dispatcher filter to deny access to sensitive paths
/0100 { /type "deny" /url "/libs/granite/security/*" }
/0101 { /type "deny" /url "/crx/*" }
/0102 { /type "deny" /url "/system/console/*" }