CVE-2025-54246: 
Adobe Experience Manager vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2025-54246 is an Incorrect Authorization vulnerability (CWE-863) in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) that allows a low-privileged, network-based attacker to bypass security controls and gain unauthorized write access. It affects AEM versions 6.5.23.0 and earlier (including the LTS track) as well as AEM Cloud Service versions up to and including 2025.8.0. The vulnerability was published on September 9, 2025, with a patch released the same day. It carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.5 (Medium) (Adobe Advisory).

The root cause is Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863), meaning the application fails to properly verify that an authenticated but low-privileged user is authorized to perform certain write operations. The attack vector is network-based, requires low privileges (a valid account), no user interaction, and low attack complexity, making it straightforward to exploit once an attacker has any authenticated foothold. The vulnerability results in a security feature bypass that grants unauthorized write access, with no impact on confidentiality or availability. A technical write-up from Assetnote's Security Research Center covers bugs found in AEM, which may include context on this class of vulnerability (Assetnote Research).

Successful exploitation allows a low-privileged attacker to bypass authorization controls and perform unauthorized write operations within the affected AEM instance. The integrity impact is rated High, meaning an attacker could modify content, configurations, or data they should not have access to — potentially defacing web properties, injecting malicious content, or altering business-critical digital assets managed through AEM. There is no direct confidentiality or availability impact, but unauthorized write access could serve as a stepping stone for further compromise of the platform or downstream systems (Adobe Advisory).

No public proof-of-concept exploit code or in-the-wild exploitation has been reported for CVE-2025-54246 as of the available data. The EPSS score is approximately 0.034%, indicating a low probability of exploitation in the near term. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. Detection coverage exists via Tenable Nessus plugin 264629 (Tenable).

Adobe has released patches addressing this vulnerability as part of security bulletin APSB25-90, published September 9, 2025. AEM on-premise users should upgrade to a version beyond 6.5.23.0 (i.e., the next available service pack or cumulative fix pack), and AEM Cloud Service customers should ensure their environment is updated beyond the 2025.8.0 release. Organizations should apply the patch as a priority for any internet-facing AEM instances and review access logs for anomalous write activity by low-privileged accounts in the interim (Adobe Advisory). CIS also issued an advisory noting multiple Adobe vulnerabilities patched in September 2025 (CIS Advisory).

The CIS (Center for Internet Security) issued an advisory covering multiple Adobe vulnerabilities patched in September 2025, including this issue (CIS Advisory). Assetnote's Security Research Center published a write-up on finding critical bugs in Adobe Experience Manager, providing broader context on the attack surface of AEM (Assetnote Research). No significant social media controversy or notable individual researcher commentary specific to this CVE has been identified.