CVE-2025-54254
published 2025-08-05CVE-2025-54254: Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.23 and earlier are affected by an Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference ('XXE') vulnerability that could…
PriorityP184high8.6CVSS 3.1
AVNACLPRNUINSCCHINAN
ITWEXPLOITVulnCheck KEV
Exploited in the wild
EPSS
77.13%
99.5th percentile
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.23 and earlier are affected by an Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference ('XXE') vulnerability that could lead to arbitrary file system read. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to access sensitive files on the local file system, scope is changed. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.
Affected
2 ranges
| Vendor | Product | Version range | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| adobe | adobe_experience_manager | <= 6.5.23 | — |
| adobe | experience_manager_forms | <= 6.5.23.0 | — |
Detection & IOCsextracted from sources · hover to see the quote
url/edcws/services/urn:EDCLicenseService
bytes
|3c|EDCSecurity|3e|
bytes
<!ENTITY|20|
snort
alert http any any -> $HOME_NET any (msg:"ET WEB_SPECIFIC_APPS Adobe Experience Manager Forms XML External Entity Injection (CVE-2025-54254)"; flow:established,to_server; http.method; content:"POST"; http.uri; content:"/edcws/services/urn:EDCLicenseService"; fast_pattern; startswith; http.request_body; content:"|3c|EDCSecurity|3e|"; content:"<!ENTITY|20|"; pcre:"/^(?:\x26\x23(?:x25|37)\x3b|\x25|[a-z]+)\x20[a-z]+\x20[A-Z]+\x20[\x22\x27][^\x22]*[\x22\x27]\x3e/R"; reference:url,slcyber.io/assetnote-security-research-center/struts-devmode-in-2025-critical-pre-auth-vulnerabilities-in-adobe-experience-manager-forms/; reference:cve,2025-54254; classtype:web-application-attack; sid:2064046; rev:1; metadata:affected_product Adobe_Experience_Manager, attack_target Server, tls_state TLSDecrypt, created_at 2025_08_19, cve CVE_2025_54254, deployment Perimeter, deployment Internal, confidence High, signature_severity Major, tag Exploit, tag Description_Generated_By_Proofpoint_Nexus, updated_at 2025_08_19, mitre_tactic_id TA0001, mitre_tactic_name Initial_Access, mitre_technique_id T1190, mitre_technique_name Exploit_Public_Facing_Application; target:dest_ip;)
- →Target the SOAP endpoint /edcws/services/urn:EDCLicenseService via HTTP POST; look for XML payloads containing an <EDCSecurity> element combined with an XXE ENTITY declaration (<!ENTITY ) — no authentication is required for exploitation. ↗
- →The PCRE pattern in the Snort rule matches XXE entity declaration variants including percent-encoded parameter entities (%25 / %) and bare % — flag any of these patterns immediately following <!ENTITY in the POST body to the target endpoint.
- →Monitor for unauthenticated POST requests to AEM Forms on JEE SOAP services; successful exploitation results in local file disclosure (e.g., win.ini) — look for file content in HTTP responses. ↗
- →Restrict or alert on inbound internet access to AEM Forms endpoints as a compensating control if patching is not immediately possible. ↗
- →Public PoC exploit chain is available; treat any exploitation attempt as high-confidence given the low complexity and no-auth-required nature of the attack. ↗
- ·The Snort rule (sid:2064046) requires TLS decryption to be effective against HTTPS-protected AEM Forms deployments, as indicated by the tls_state:TLSDecrypt metadata.
- ·CVE-2025-54254 affects Adobe Experience Manager Forms on JEE versions 6.5.23 and earlier only; cloud/SaaS deployments may have a different exposure profile. ↗
- ·CVE-2025-54254 is part of a chained exploit alongside CVE-2025-54253 (auth bypass + RCE) and CVE-2025-49533 (Java deserialization RCE); detection and patching should address all three vulnerabilities together. ↗
CVSS provenance
nvdv3.18.6HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
vulncheck8.6HIGH
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GHSA
GHSA-6hv6-fgh2-5mjv: Adobe Experience Manager versions 6
ghsa_unreviewed·2025-08-05
CVE-2025-54254 [HIGH] CWE-611 GHSA-6hv6-fgh2-5mjv: Adobe Experience Manager versions 6
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.23 and earlier are affected by an Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference ('XXE') vulnerability that could lead to arbitrary file system read. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to access sensitive files on the local file system. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.
VulnCheck
Adobe experience_manager_forms Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference
vulncheck·2025·CVSS 8.6
CVE-2025-54254 [HIGH] Adobe experience_manager_forms Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference
Adobe experience_manager_forms Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.23 and earlier are affected by an Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference ('XXE') vulnerability that could lead to arbitrary file system read. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to access sensitive files on the local file system, scope is changed. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.
Affected: Adobe experience_manager_forms
Required Action: Apply remediations or mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if remediation or mitigations are unavailable.
Exploitation References: https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2025-08-12&host_type=src&vulnerability=
Suricata
ET WEB_SPECIFIC_APPS Adobe Experience Manager Forms XML External Entity Injection (CVE-2025-54254)
suricata·2025-08-19·CVSS 8.6
CVE-2025-54254 [HIGH] ET WEB_SPECIFIC_APPS Adobe Experience Manager Forms XML External Entity Injection (CVE-2025-54254)
ET WEB_SPECIFIC_APPS Adobe Experience Manager Forms XML External Entity Injection (CVE-2025-54254)
Rule: alert http any any -> $HOME_NET any (msg:"ET WEB_SPECIFIC_APPS Adobe Experience Manager Forms XML External Entity Injection (CVE-2025-54254)"; flow:established,to_server; http.method; content:"POST"; http.uri; content:"/edcws/services/urn:EDCLicenseService"; fast_pattern; startswith; http.request_body; content:"|3c|EDCSecurity|3e|"; content:"<!ENTITY|20|"; pcre:"/^(?:\x26\x23(?:x25|37)\x3b|\x25|[a-z]+)\x20[a-z]+\x20[A-Z]+\x20[\x22\x27][^\x22]*[\x22\x27]\x3e/R"; reference:url,slcyber.io/assetnote-security-research-center/struts-devmode-in-2025-critical-pre-auth-vulnerabilities-in-adobe-experience-manager-forms/; reference:cve,2025-54254; classtype:web-application-attack; sid:2064046; re
No public exploits indexed.
Bleepingcomputer
CISA: Maximum-severity Adobe flaw now exploited in attacks
blogs_bleepingcomputer·2025-10-16·CVSS 9.8
CVE-2025-54253 [CRITICAL] CISA: Maximum-severity Adobe flaw now exploited in attacks
## CISA: Maximum-severity Adobe flaw now exploited in attacks
## Sergiu Gatlan
CISA has warned that attackers are actively exploiting a maximum-severity vulnerability in Adobe Experience Manager to execute code on unpatched systems.
Tracked as CVE-2025-54253 , this critical security flaw stems from a misconfiguration weakness that affects Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms on JEE versions 6.5.23 and earlier.
Successful exploitation can allow unauthenticated threat actors to bypass security mechanisms and execute arbitrary code remotely in low-complexity attacks that don't require user interaction.
The flaw was discovered by Adam Kues and Shubham Shah of Searchlight Cyber, who disclosed it to Adobe on April 28th, together with two other issues (CVE-2025-54254 and CVE-2025-49533).
Ho
Bleepingcomputer
Adobe issues emergency fixes for AEM Forms zero-days after PoCs released
blogs_bleepingcomputer·2025-08-05·CVSS 9.8
CVE-2025-54253 [CRITICAL] Adobe issues emergency fixes for AEM Forms zero-days after PoCs released
## Adobe issues emergency fixes for AEM Forms zero-days after PoCs released
## Lawrence Abrams
Adobe released emergency updates for two zero-day flaws in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms on JEE after a PoC exploit chain was disclosed that can be used for unauthenticated, remote code execution on vulnerable instances.
The flaws are tracked as CVE-2025-54253 and CVE-2025-54254:
CVE-2025-54253: Misconfiguration allowing arbitrary code execution. Rated "Critical" with a maximum-severity 10.0 CVSS score.
CVE-2025-54254: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (XXE) allowing arbitrary file system read. Rated "Critical" with a CVSS score of 8.6.
Adobe has fixed the flaws in the latest versions as described in this advisory .
The vulnerabilities were discovered by Shubham
Greynoiseio
NoiseLetter August 2025
blogs_greynoiseio
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2025-08-05
Published
Exploited in the wild