CISA Warns: Critical Adobe AEM Flaw (CVSS 10.0) Actively Exploited
CISA Adds Critical Adobe Experience Manager RCE Flaw (CVE-2025-54253) to KEV Catalog
CVE Identifiers
Full Report
Executive Summary
A critical, unauthenticated remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability, CVE-2025-54253, in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms is being actively exploited in the wild. The vulnerability has been assigned the maximum possible CVSS score of 10.0, reflecting its extreme severity. Due to confirmed exploitation, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. This action requires U.S. federal agencies to remediate the flaw by November 5, 2025. The vulnerability allows a remote attacker with no credentials to take complete control of a vulnerable server. All organizations using the affected versions of AEM Forms on JEE are urged to apply the available patches immediately as a top priority.
Vulnerability Details
The vulnerability exists in the Java Enterprise Edition (JEE) versions of Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms, specifically versions 6.5.23.0 and earlier. The root cause is a critical misconfiguration that exposes a debug servlet at the URL path /adminui/debug.
This servlet was likely intended for internal development or troubleshooting purposes but was improperly left exposed in production builds without any authentication controls. An attacker can send a specially crafted request to this endpoint containing arbitrary Java code. The servlet will then evaluate and execute this code with the privileges of the AEM application, leading to a full system compromise.
This attack vector is classified as an T1190 - Exploit Public-Facing Application, as it targets a component accessible over the network without any prior access or credentials.
Affected Systems
- Product: Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms on Java Enterprise Edition (JEE)
- Affected Versions: 6.5.23.0 and earlier
Exploitation Status
- Active Exploitation: CISA has confirmed that CVE-2025-54253 is being actively exploited by malicious actors.
- CISA KEV Catalog: The vulnerability was added to the KEV catalog, indicating a high-priority threat to federal networks and, by extension, all organizations.
- Remediation Deadline: Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies are mandated to patch by November 5, 2025, under Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 22-01.
Impact Assessment
Exploitation of this vulnerability is trivial and the impact is catastrophic. A successful attacker can:
- Execute arbitrary code on the underlying server with the permissions of the AEM service account.
- Steal sensitive data processed by the AEM Forms application.
- Deploy malware, such as ransomware or backdoors, for long-term persistence.
- Use the compromised server as a pivot point to move laterally within the victim's network.
- Cause a complete denial of service.
Given the perfect 10.0 CVSS score, this vulnerability represents a worst-case scenario for a public-facing application.
Cyber Observables for Detection
| Type | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| url_pattern | /adminui/debug |
The presence of requests to this URL path in web server logs is a high-confidence indicator of compromise or an exploitation attempt. |
| process_name | java.exe |
Monitor the java.exe process associated with the AEM application for suspicious child processes (e.g., cmd.exe, powershell.exe, /bin/bash). |
| log_source | AEM Error Logs |
Check AEM's internal error logs for exceptions or messages related to the execution of unexpected code. |
Detection Methods
- Log Analysis (D3-NTA: Network Traffic Analysis): The most effective detection method is to search web server access logs (e.g., Apache, IIS, Nginx) for any HTTP requests containing the string
/adminui/debug. Any hits should be considered a security incident and investigated immediately. - EDR Monitoring: Use an Endpoint Detection and Response tool to monitor the Java process running the AEM application. Create alerts for the spawning of shell processes or network connections to unusual IP addresses.
- Vulnerability Scanning: Use a vulnerability scanner with up-to-date plugins to actively check for the presence of CVE-2025-54253 in your environment.
Remediation Steps
- Patch Immediately (D3-SU: Software Update): The primary and most effective solution is to apply the security patches released by Adobe in early October 2025. This should be treated as an emergency change.
- Workaround (Temporary): If patching is not immediately possible, implement a rule on a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or the front-end web server to block all access to the
/adminui/URL path. This should only be considered a temporary compensating control until the patch can be applied. - System Isolation: Isolate vulnerable AEM servers from the internet if they do not need to be publicly accessible. Restrict access to only trusted internal IP ranges.
- Hunt for Compromise: After applying mitigations, assume compromise and hunt for indicators of malicious activity using the detection methods described above.
Timeline of Events
MITRE ATT&CK Mitigations
Update Software
Applying the security update from Adobe is the most direct and effective way to remediate this vulnerability.
Mapped D3FEND Techniques:
Filter Network Traffic
Use a WAF or web server configuration to block access to the vulnerable `/adminui/debug` URL path as a temporary mitigation until patching is complete.
Mapped D3FEND Techniques:
Running the AEM application in a container or with restricted permissions can help limit the impact of a successful RCE attack.
D3FEND Defensive Countermeasures
As a critical and immediate compensating control for CVE-2025-54253, organizations must implement inbound traffic filtering to block access to the vulnerable endpoint. This can be achieved most effectively using a Web Application Firewall (WAF). Create a specific rule to deny any HTTP/HTTPS request where the URL path contains /adminui/debug. This rule should be deployed in 'block' mode immediately. If a WAF is not available, similar blocking rules can be implemented on reverse proxies, load balancers, or the web server (e.g., Apache, Nginx) fronting the AEM application. This filtering provides a rapid, temporary mitigation to prevent exploitation while the emergency patching process is underway. It is crucial to verify that the rule correctly blocks access without causing unintended disruption to legitimate application functionality.
The definitive solution for CVE-2025-54253 is to apply the security patch provided by Adobe. Due to the 10.0 CVSS score and active exploitation, this should be treated as an emergency change, bypassing normal patch cycles. All instances of Adobe Experience Manager Forms on JEE version 6.5.23.0 and earlier are vulnerable and must be updated. Organizations should immediately identify all affected assets using asset management systems and vulnerability scanners. The update should be deployed to internet-facing systems first, followed by internal systems. After deployment, it is essential to run follow-up scans to verify that the patch has been successfully applied and the vulnerability is remediated. This action permanently closes the attack vector.
Sources & References
Article Author
Jason Gomes
• Cybersecurity PractitionerCybersecurity professional with over 10 years of specialized experience in security operations, threat intelligence, incident response, and security automation. Expertise spans SOAR/XSOAR orchestration, threat intelligence platforms, SIEM/UEBA analytics, and building cyber fusion centers. Background includes technical enablement, solution architecture for enterprise and government clients, and implementing security automation workflows across IR, TIP, and SOC use cases.
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