CVE-2025-54246: Adobe Experience Manager Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2025-54246 Overview

CVE-2025-54246 is an Incorrect Authorization vulnerability [CWE-863] affecting Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) versions 6.5.23.0 and earlier. The flaw allows a low-privileged authenticated attacker to bypass security controls and gain unauthorized write access to protected resources. Adobe published the fix through security bulletin APSB25-90.

The vulnerability impacts both on-premises AEM 6.5 LTS deployments and AEM Cloud Service instances. Successful exploitation compromises the integrity of managed content without requiring user interaction. The network attack vector and low complexity make this issue relevant for any organization exposing AEM authoring or publishing endpoints.

Critical Impact
A low-privileged attacker can bypass authorization checks over the network to obtain unauthorized write access, undermining content integrity across the AEM instance.

Affected Products

Adobe Experience Manager 6.5.23.0 and earlier (on-premises)
Adobe Experience Manager 6.5 LTS (including SP1)
Adobe Experience Manager Cloud Service (AEM CS)

Discovery Timeline

2025-09-09 - CVE-2025-54246 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-54246

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is classified under [CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization]. AEM performs authorization decisions that do not correctly enforce the intended access policy for certain operations. An attacker holding only low-privilege credentials can invoke actions that should be restricted to higher-privilege roles.

The impact is limited to integrity. The flaw does not disclose confidential data or degrade availability directly, but unauthorized write access enables content tampering, injection of malicious payloads into published pages, or modification of configuration nodes stored in the Java Content Repository (JCR).

Root Cause

The defect stems from an authorization check that evaluates permissions incorrectly for specific request paths or operations. When the resolver processes the request, it grants write access to identities that should only hold read or limited privileges. Adobe has not released internal component details, but the issue aligns with common AEM authorization flaws where ACL evaluation is bypassed or misapplied on servlet endpoints or Sling POST handlers.

Attack Vector

Exploitation occurs over the network against an authenticated session. The attacker authenticates with any valid low-privilege account, then issues a crafted HTTP request to an affected endpoint. The request performs a write operation that the authorization layer should reject but incorrectly permits.

No user interaction is required, and the attack complexity is low. Refer to the Adobe Security Advisory APSB25-90 for authoritative technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-54246

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected write, modify, or delete operations in the JCR audit log attributed to low-privileged users.
Sling POST servlet requests (:operation=modify, :operation=import) originating from accounts that historically only performed read operations.
New or altered nodes under /content, /apps, or /conf paths without an associated change-management record.

Detection Strategies

Enable and forward AEM access logs and repository audit logs to a centralized SIEM for correlation against user role baselines.
Alert on HTTP POST, PUT, or DELETE requests to authoring endpoints from user agents or IPs associated with contributor or reader accounts.
Compare package installation and configuration change events against approved change tickets to surface unauthorized activity.

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor the com.day.cq.audit and org.apache.sling.auth logging categories for anomalous authorization outcomes.
Track privilege usage per account and flag deviations from established role behavior.
Review dispatcher logs for suspicious POST traffic reaching backend AEM instances from untrusted networks.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-54246

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the Adobe security update referenced in APSB25-90 to all AEM 6.5.x and AEM Cloud Service environments.
Inventory all AEM instances, including non-production, and prioritize internet-facing authoring systems.
Audit low-privilege accounts and revoke any that are unused or over-scoped.

Patch Information

Adobe released fixed builds for AEM 6.5 (Service Pack succeeding 6.5.23.0) and pushed updates to AEM Cloud Service. Consult the Adobe Security Advisory APSB25-90 for the exact patched version numbers, download locations, and installation prerequisites. Restart the AEM instance after applying the service pack or cumulative fix pack.

Workarounds

Restrict access to AEM authoring endpoints using the dispatcher and network-level ACLs so only trusted administrator networks reach write operations.
Enforce least privilege on AEM user groups and remove write permissions from any role that does not explicitly require them.
Require multi-factor authentication for all AEM accounts to raise the cost of credential-based exploitation.

bash

# Dispatcher filter example: deny Sling POST operations from external networks
/0100 { /type "deny" /method "POST" /url "*" }
/0101 { /type "allow" /method "POST" /url "*" /clientheader "X-Trusted-Admin: true" }