CVE-2025-54248 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) versions 6.5.23.0 and earlier. The vulnerability stems from improper input validation (CWE-20), which allows a low-privileged attacker to bypass security features and gain unauthorized read access to sensitive information. The vulnerability does not require user interaction and can be exploited remotely over the network (AV:N), with low attack complexity (AC:L) and only requires low privileges (PR:L). The scope is changed, indicating that the vulnerability affects components beyond the initially intended security boundary, potentially allowing access to data or resources that should be protected. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.7, reflecting a high impact on confidentiality (C:H), no impact on integrity (I:N), and no impact on availability (A:N). No known exploits are currently in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability could allow attackers to read sensitive content managed by AEM, such as proprietary business data, customer information, or internal documents, which could lead to data breaches or further exploitation. Given AEM's role as a content management system widely used by enterprises for web content and digital asset management, this vulnerability poses a significant risk if left unmitigated.

For European organizations, this vulnerability could have serious consequences. Many enterprises, government agencies, and public sector organizations in Europe use Adobe Experience Manager to manage critical web content and digital assets. Unauthorized read access could lead to exposure of sensitive personal data protected under GDPR, intellectual property, or confidential business information. This could result in regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and loss of customer trust. Additionally, the ability to bypass security features with low privileges increases the risk of insider threats or exploitation by attackers who have gained limited access. The changed scope suggests that the breach could extend beyond isolated components, potentially affecting multiple systems or services integrated with AEM. This amplifies the risk of lateral movement within networks and broader data exposure. The lack of known exploits currently reduces immediate risk, but the high CVSS score and ease of exploitation mean organizations should act proactively to prevent potential attacks.

European organizations should implement the following specific mitigation steps: 1) Immediately inventory all Adobe Experience Manager instances and verify their versions. Prioritize upgrading to the latest version once Adobe releases a patch addressing CVE-2025-54248. 2) Until patches are available, restrict network access to AEM administrative interfaces and content repositories to trusted IP ranges and VPNs only. 3) Implement strict access controls and monitor for unusual read access patterns or privilege escalations within AEM logs. 4) Employ web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious input patterns that could exploit input validation flaws. 5) Conduct internal penetration testing focused on input validation and access control bypass scenarios in AEM environments. 6) Educate administrators and security teams about this vulnerability and ensure rapid incident response capabilities are in place. 7) Review integration points and APIs exposed by AEM for potential indirect exploitation paths. 8) Maintain up-to-date backups of AEM content and configurations to enable recovery if compromise occurs.