DocumentationExperience Cloud KCS

AEM Author: Changes not saving due to user permissions

Last update: September 1, 2026

This article explains how to troubleshoot and resolve issues where changes made in the Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Author environment, such as page creation or component updates, are not saved due to user permission misconfigurations.

Description description

Environment

Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Author environment

Issue/Symptoms

  • Changes such as page creation, adding components, or saving edits do not persist for certain users or groups.
  • The issue does not occur when using an administrator account.
  • Error logs may show entries related to permission or access validation failures.
  • The problem can block testing and deployment activities.

Cause

Insufficient permissions or incorrect Access Control List (ACL) configurations prevent changes from being saved in the AEM Author environment.

Resolution resolution

Follow the steps below to resolve the issue:

  1. Verify user permissions. Ensure that affected users have the required permissions to create and edit pages or components in the AEM Author environment.
  2. Compare permissions. Check the permissions of affected users against those of an administrator account that successfully saves changes.
  3. Review recent permission changes. Investigate any recent updates to Access Control Lists (ACLs) or other permission configurations that affect the ability to save changes. Revert or adjust these changes as needed to restore required permissions.
  4. Check logs for errors. Review AEM error logs for entries related to permission or access issues, such as errors from ExpressionSecurityValidatorImpl or similar components.
  5. Test with administrative access. Attempt the same operation using an administrator account to confirm that the issue is related to user permissions.
  6. If the issue persists, collect diagnostic information. Collect a HAR file and browser console logs during a failed save attempt, and note the exact timestamp and timezone for log correlation. Provide these details to Adobe Support for further assistance.

To verify resolution, confirm that affected users can now successfully save changes in the AEM Author environment.

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