CVE-2025-46889 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 06/11/2025
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.22 and earlier are affected by an Improper Access Control vulnerability that could result in privilege escalation. A low privileged attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass security measures and gain limited unauthorized elevated access. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/16/2025
Adobe Experience Manager represents a comprehensive digital experience platform that serves as a cornerstone for enterprise content management and digital asset delivery. The platform's architecture includes multiple security controls designed to protect against unauthorized access and privilege escalation attacks. However, CVE-2025-46889 reveals a critical weakness in the access control mechanisms that govern user permissions and system resource access. This vulnerability specifically affects versions 6.5.22 and earlier, indicating that the flaw has existed for an extended period within the product lifecycle.
The technical flaw manifests as an improper access control implementation that fails to adequately validate user privileges during system operations. This weakness allows attackers with minimal privileges to bypass established security boundaries and escalate their access rights within the AEM environment. The vulnerability operates at the core authentication and authorization layers where user roles and permissions should be strictly enforced. The flaw likely involves insufficient validation of access tokens, session management issues, or flawed permission checking routines that permit unauthorized elevation of privileges.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to enterprise organizations relying on Adobe Experience Manager for their digital infrastructure. A successful exploitation could enable attackers to access sensitive content, modify system configurations, or gain access to administrative functions without proper authorization. The impact extends beyond simple unauthorized access as it could lead to complete system compromise, data exfiltration, or disruption of digital services. Organizations utilizing AEM for customer-facing applications, digital marketing platforms, or enterprise content repositories face heightened risk from this vulnerability.
The attack vector for CVE-2025-46889 does not require user interaction, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited automatically without any human involvement from the target. This characteristic aligns with the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation tactics where adversaries seek to gain higher-level permissions within compromised systems. The vulnerability's classification as improper access control maps directly to CWE-285 which addresses improper authorization within software applications. Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in their risk assessment frameworks as it represents a fundamental weakness in the platform's security architecture.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including upgrading to patched versions of Adobe Experience Manager, reviewing current access control policies, and conducting comprehensive security audits of their AEM implementations. The remediation process should involve thorough testing of access control mechanisms and validation of privilege escalation protections. Additionally, organizations should monitor for exploitation attempts through their security information and event management systems, as this vulnerability could be targeted in automated attack campaigns. The incident response plan should include procedures for validating access control configurations and ensuring that all users maintain only the minimum required privileges for their roles.