CVE-2025-54251VulnerabilityPublished 9 Sep 2025Updated 30 Sep 2025

CVE-2025-54251: Adobe Experience Manager · XML Injection (aka Blind XPath Injection)

Affects Adobe Experience ManagerSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · public detection template (Nuclei) · CVSS 4.3 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.3Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 1.7% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 77% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 9 Sep 2025
Detectable: evidence found.
nuclei template: Adobe Experience Manager ≤ 6.5.23.0 - XML Injection
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Adobe Adobe Experience Manager	Affected =0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

1. Immediate mitigation should include reviewing and restricting user privileges within Adobe Experience Manager to the minimum necessary, reducing the risk posed by low-privileged attackers. 2. Implement input validation and sanitization controls specifically targeting XML and XPath inputs to prevent injection attacks. 3. Monitor AEM logs for unusual XML query patterns or unauthorized write attempts that could indicate exploitation attempts. 4. Apply any forthcoming official patches from Adobe promptly once released. 5. Consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious XML payloads targeting AEM. 6. Conduct security assessments and penetration testing focusing on XML injection vectors within AEM environments. 7. Educate developers and administrators about secure coding practices related to XML handling and XPath queries to prevent similar vulnerabilities in custom AEM components or extensions.

Description

Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.23.0 and earlier are affected by an XML Injection vulnerability that could result in a Security feature bypass. A low-privileged attacker could leverage this vulnerability to manipulate XML queries and gain limited unauthorized write access.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk primarily to those relying on Adobe Experience Manager for content management, digital marketing, and customer experience platforms. Unauthorized write access could allow attackers to alter website content, inject malicious scripts, or manipulate business-critical workflows, potentially leading to reputational damage, regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR if personal data is indirectly affected), and operational disruptions. Since AEM is often integrated with other enterprise systems, the integrity compromise could cascade, affecting downstream applications or data analytics. The medium CVSS score (4.3) reflects a moderate threat level, but the real-world impact depends on the deployment context and the privileges of the attacker. Organizations in sectors such as finance, government, healthcare, and e-commerce, which heavily rely on AEM for customer-facing portals, are particularly at risk. Additionally, the lack of current exploits suggests a window of opportunity for proactive mitigation before active attacks emerge.

CWE-91XML Injection (aka Blind XPath Injection) (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A05:2025: Injection (opens in a new tab)
The product does not properly neutralize special elements that are used in XML, allowing attackers to modify the syntax, content, or commands of the XML before it is processed by an end system.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
Deserialization (opens in a new tab)
Injection Prevention (opens in a new tab)
SQL Injection Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Injection Prevention in Java (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.5.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
XML Injection (opens in a new tab)
XPath Injection (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

helpx.adobe.com/security/products/experience-manager/apsb25-90.html (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 1 Oct 2025, 00:13 UTC

Public exploits and detectiona Nuclei detection template

WeaknessesCWE-91

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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