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CriticalCISA KEVExploited in the wildPublic exploit

Adobe Experience Manager Forms on JEE Struts DevMode OGNL RCE

IdentifiersCVE-2025-54253CWE-16

CVE-2025-54253 is a critical misconfiguration vulnerability in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms on Java Enterprise Edition (JEE) affecting version 6.5.23.0 and earlier. The issue is described as an improper configuration in the AEM Forms JEE platform that leaves Apache Struts development/debug functionality exposed, including references to Struts devMode and the admin UI debug endpoint. Multiple sources in the provided content indicate that an unauthenticated attacker can send specially crafted requests, including OGNL expressions to the exposed adminui debug functionality, bypass security mechanisms, and trigger arbitrary code execution on the server. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable over the network, requires no user interaction, and has changed scope. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available, and CISA has added the CVE to the KEV catalog due to observed exploitation in the wild.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation allows remote, unauthenticated arbitrary code execution on the affected AEM Forms on JEE server. This can result in full compromise of the application environment, including execution of attacker-controlled commands, theft or manipulation of sensitive business data processed by AEM Forms, disruption of forms and workflow services, and potential pivoting to other internal systems reachable from the compromised host. Because scope is changed and impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability are all described as high, exploitation can extend beyond the vulnerable component itself.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

If immediate patching is not possible, restrict access to AEM Forms on JEE—especially standalone or internet-facing deployments—to trusted internal networks and administrative users only. Review and disable exposed Struts debug/development functionality, including any admin UI debug endpoints, and verify that insecure development settings such as devMode are not enabled in production. Monitor logs for suspicious requests targeting admin/debug paths or carrying OGNL-style payloads, and prioritize exposure reduction for standalone J2EE deployments such as JBoss-hosted instances until the vendor fix is applied.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply Adobe's security update for AEM Forms on JEE and upgrade affected installations to version 6.5.0-0108 or later, as referenced in Adobe advisory APSB25-82. Installations running 6.5.23.0 or earlier should be treated as vulnerable until updated. The provided content also notes Adobe guidance to validate the update after installation by checking product version information and bundle state, and to back up the CRX repository, database schema, global document storage, and the <AEM_forms_root>/deploy folder before patching. For older branches such as 6.4, 6.3, and 6.2, the content indicates contacting Adobe customer care for assistance.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

3 valid exploits after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos (3 hidden).

VALID 3 / 6 TOTALView more in app
AEMPWNMaturityPoCVerified exploit

Repository contains a single Python tool (aempwn.py) plus README and GPLv3 license. The tool is a multi-target network scanner aimed at Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms endpoints for CVE-2025-54253 and CVE-2025-54254. It normalizes targets to HTTPS by default, then POSTs XML to a fixed list of likely AEM Forms submission endpoints. Capabilities include: (1) a safe behavior probe using a per-run canary token to detect XML reflection/unsafe parsing surface; (2) in-band XXE probes attempting to read local files (/etc/hostname, /etc/passwd, C:\\Windows\\win.ini) and AWS metadata via 169.254.169.254; (3) an OOB XXE mode that sends a parameter-entity payload referencing {oob_url}/evil.dtd (requires attacker-hosted DTD and monitoring); and (4) an RCE escalation mode that sends an external entity reference to an attacker-supplied LDAP/JNDI URL (e.g., ldap://host:1389/#Exploit), intended to trigger Java class loading/execution when combined with external LDAP/HTTP infrastructure (as described in README). Results are scored and printed; confirmed hits are appended to an output file (code default: aempwn-results.txt). The code uses threading for mass scanning and disables TLS verification.

zoomdbzDisclosed Feb 10, 2026pythonnetwork
CVE-2025-54253-Exploit-DemoMaturityPoCVerified exploit

This repository provides a simulated proof-of-concept (PoC) for CVE-2025-54253, an OGNL injection vulnerability in Adobe AEM. The structure includes a vulnerable Flask server (server/server/app.py) that mimics the behavior of a misconfigured AEM endpoint, a PoC script (poc/cve-2025-54253-poc.py) that sends OGNL payloads as system commands to the server, and supporting files such as logs and documentation. The exploit demonstrates remote command execution by sending crafted requests to the '/adminui/debug' endpoint with the 'debug' parameter containing an OGNL expression. The server executes the command and returns the output, simulating the impact of the vulnerability. The repository is strictly for educational and defensive research purposes, with clear warnings against use outside of isolated lab environments. No real-world exploitation code is provided for production systems. The main attack vector is network-based, targeting a web endpoint. Fingerprintable endpoints include the simulated HTTP URLs and the log file used for tracking payloads and responses.

jm7knzDisclosed Aug 17, 2025pythonnetwork
CVE-2025-54253-Exploit-DemoMaturityPoCVerified exploit

This repository provides a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit for CVE-2025-54253, a critical OGNL injection vulnerability in Adobe AEM Forms on JEE (versions <= 6.5.23.0). The vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary operating system commands via the /adminui/debug endpoint by injecting OGNL expressions. The repository contains: - A Python PoC script (poc/cve-2025-54253-poc.py) that sends crafted GET requests to the vulnerable endpoint, executing commands such as 'whoami', 'id', 'uname -a', and 'ls -la'. - A simulated vulnerable Flask server (server/server/app.py) that mimics the behavior of the vulnerable endpoint for local testing and demonstration purposes. This server executes received commands if the 'debug' parameter starts with 'OGNL:'. - Logs (logs/exploit.log) showing example exploitation attempts and command execution. - Documentation (README.md) with technical details, exploitation steps, mitigation advice, and references. The main exploit capability is unauthenticated remote code execution via network-accessible HTTP requests to the /adminui/debug endpoint. The repository is structured for both demonstration and testing, with clear separation between the PoC, server simulation, and documentation. No fake or detection-only scripts are present; the code is a functional exploit PoC.

ShivshantpDisclosed Aug 6, 2025pythonnetwork
EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
AdobeExperience Manager Formsapplication
AdobeExperience Manager Forms On Java Enterprise Edition (Jee)application

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What this page doesn’t show

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Exposure mapping

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Threat actor evidence

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Associated malware

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Detection signatures3

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity70

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.