DocumentationAEM 6.5 LTSUser Guide

Current release notes for Adobe Experience Manager 6.5 LTS, SP2 release-notes

Last update: Tue Mar 31 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
  • Applies to:
  • Experience Manager 6.5 LTS

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Release information release-information

Product
Adobe Experience Manager 6.5 LTS
Version
Service Pack 2 (SP2)
Type
Service Pack release
Date
February 19, 2026
Download URL
Software Distribution
IMPORTANT
Mandatory Hotfix – To avoid SNFE (SegmentNotFoundException) issues with offline compaction when installing SP2, install the hotfix described in Known issues – Repository corruption during online compaction.

What is included in Adobe Experience Manager 6.5 LTS, SP2 what-is-new

Experience Manager 6.5 LTS, SP2 includes new features, key customer-requested enhancements, and bug fixes. It also includes performance, stability, and security improvements released since the initial availability of 6.5 LTS in March 2025. Install this Service Pack on 6.5 LTS.

Key feature and enhancement

AEM Sites

AEM 6.5 LTS SP2 now includes OpenAPIs for Content Fragment and Model Management and Launches. These APIs provide access to Content Fragments and launches for authoring and scheduling. They use the same modern OpenAPIs as AEM as a Cloud Service.

Fixed issues in 6.5 LTS, Service Pack 2 fixed-issues

Sites sites-65-LTS-SP2

Accessibility sites-accessibility-65-lts-sp2

  • The Text component lost keyboard focus when authors hovered items in the Component Browser during editing. This disrupted typing and triggered an accessibility failure under WCAG 3.2.1. The fix prevents hover styling from shifting focus and keeps the Text component focused during Component Browser interaction. (SITES-35370)
  • Corrected focus management in the Description rich text field that blocked forward navigation with the Tab key. Users became stuck in the RTE because the component relied on a non-standard keyboard command to shift focus, which broke expected dialog box navigation. The change enforces standard keyboard interaction and preserves logical Tab sequencing throughout the dialog box. (SITES-35228)
  • Fixed issue in the Sites editor that disrupted expected behavior during page authoring and led to inconsistent component interaction. Authors experienced unreliable UI responses that interfered with standard editing tasks and reduced workflow efficiency. The update refines the underlying editor logic and restores stable, predictable interaction across affected components. (SITES-35227)
  • a regression that broke the asset selector in the page editor and prevented it from loading in specific page editing scenarios. Authors can now open and use the asset selector normally when choosing or browsing assets while editing a page. This change restores consistent access to asset selection workflows that loading failures disrupted. (SITES-35226)
  • Eliminated an issue in the Sites editor that caused inconsistent behavior during page interaction and disrupted standard authoring workflows. The defect led to unexpected UI responses that interfered with component configuration and content updates. The update stabilizes the affected functionality and restores reliable execution of editing actions across pages. (SITES-35225)
  • Eliminated a defect in the Sites authoring interface that caused inconsistent behavior during page editing and disrupted normal workflows. Authors encountered unexpected UI responses that interfered with component interaction and content updates. The update stabilizes the affected functionality and restores reliable, predictable behavior across editing scenarios. (SITES-35224)
  • AEM Sites now includes alt text support on images to meet ADA and WCAG requirements. Page output no longer omits alt attributes, so screen readers receive correct alternate text. (SITES-27153)
  • Fixed the Note Add toolbar layout so the Add button no longer overlaps the title at 320px viewport width. Improved small-screen Reflow so controls remain readable and usable during 400% zoom. (SITES-25376)
  • Fixed missing screen reader announcements for Link selection dialog box errors. The UI now publishes error text through a status message container, so NVDA reads the message as soon as it appears. (SITES-25368)
  • Removed ARIA grid and grid cell roles from the side-rail asset list. Restored standard list semantics and keyboard focus order, which improved screen-reader navigation and reduced extra tab stops. (SITES-25361)
  • Corrected focus sequencing in side-rail Assets. Keyboard users now reach every asset action, including Edit, through a consistent Tab path. (SITES-25360)
  • Fixed layout overflow in the Search Assets modal at 320px viewport width. Modal content now reflows and stays readable, so controls no longer overlap or overrun the dialog box. (SITES-25330)
  • Corrected NVDA output for the Edit button. NVDA now announces the Edit action, not “Preview button pressed.” (SITES-25320)
  • Fixed unnamed Demographics toolbar text inputs that caused silent or generic screen reader output. Each input now exposes a clear label-based accessible name, which improves keyboard and assistive-tech navigation. (SITES-25316)
  • Corrected keyboard focus order for the Demographic toolbar during Layout Preview navigation. Tab navigation now moves directly from the Demographic button to the toolbar controls, without skipping to the secondary toolbar. (SITES-25305)
  • Fixed incorrect announcement order for “Smaller Screens” and “Tablet” labels on the Edit Layout ruler. Screen readers now announce these labels at the correct ruler markers, which match the page layout. (SITES-25291)
  • Fixed Edit Layout toolbar overflow at 200% zoom. Content now stays within the viewport and remains reachable through scrolling. (SITES-25288)
  • Resolved incorrect focus order in the Annotations overlay. Keyboard tabbing now cycles through overlay controls and annotation items. The parent page no longer takes focus from behind the overlay. (SITES-25282)
  • Fixed Swatches popover focus handling. The dialog box now moves focus to a clear heading and starts screen reader output at that entry point. NVDA no longer reads the full dialog box content out of sequence. (SITES-25275)
  • Fixed Timewarp modal focus handling after Date Picker close. Escape now returns focus to the Date Picker button. Date selection now places focus on the input field next to the Date Picker control, preventing focus loss and background page access. (SITES-25264)
  • Fixed keyboard focus handling for the Delete Annotation dialog box. Cancel now returns focus to the Delete control that opened the dialog box, not the Confirm hex value control. Screen readers no longer announce unrelated dialog box content after Cancel. (SITES-25258)
  • Fixed focus handling for the Annotation modal dialog box. Opening the dialog box now sets focus on the dialog box heading and stops NVDA from reading canvas content and unrelated dialog box text. Keyboard navigation now stays inside the dialog box until close. (SITES-25257)
  • Fixed Search modal layout issues at 320px width. Modal content now reflows cleanly and avoids overlap with the tree directory. Users can view results and navigate the directory without obscured controls. (SITES-25246)
  • Search modal text no longer clips after text spacing increases. Tree directory layout now keeps clear separation, so labels and entries stay readable. Users can now complete search and navigation without overlap or cut-off text. (SITES-25245)
  • Activating Annotate now moves keyboard focus into annotation content, not the Exit annotation button. Tab order follows a logical sequence and keeps related controls reachable without reverse navigation. (SITES-25241)
  • Set Date and Exit Timewarp links lacked a visible focus indicator during keyboard navigation. The UI now renders a distinct, high contrast focus style so users can identify the active link at a glance. (SITES-25232)
  • The Teaser Modal header no longer blocks keyboard users from moving the dialog. Keyboard controls now allow pick-up, move, and drop actions, which improve screen reader usability and overall operability. (SITES-25226)
  • AEM now uses a meaningful accessible label for the Teaser Modal Info button. Screen readers announce a clear action name instead of the default icon alt-text string. (SITES-25223)
  • Screen readers now announce the correct action when users activate the Edit button. NVDA no longer reports “Preview button pressed,” which caused misleading feedback and confusion during keyboard navigation. (SITES-25208)
  • Expanding the Left Rail now moves keyboard focus to the first Left Rail control. The Tab sequence no longer jumps to the secondary toolbar or lands mid-list, so keyboard users can reach Left Rail content without reverse navigation. (SITES-24998)
  • Device emulator bar content now remains fully visible at 320 px viewport width. Toolbar text and controls wrap instead of truncating, reducing overlap and improving readability. (SITES-24953)
  • AEM now displays the full iPhone device label in the emulator toolbar. Text no longer truncates at default width, improving readability and device selection clarity. (SITES-24952)
  • List View table headers now expose sort state through ARIA. Screen readers announce ascending or descending order after a column sort action. (SITES-24943)
  • AEM now preserves More Actions menu label visibility in Card View during text spacing changes. Menu options keep complete text, including Quick Publish, and the menu remains legible during any WCAG text spacing settings. (SITES-24941)
  • Card Actions menu bar now exposes an accessible name in Card View. Screen readers announce the menu bar purpose clearly, and voice control can target the control by name. (SITES-24938)
  • Card View no longer relies on ARIA grid semantics that caused confusing screen reader behavior. The UI now provides meaningful roles and labels for card content and the card action bar, which reduces missed controls during keyboard use. (SITES-24933)
  • The Delete Modal tooltip now appears each time users hover the tooltip icon. Focus actions now show the same tooltip text, which improves repeat access for mouse and keyboard users. (SITES-24778)
  • Left Rail navigation now follows the expected keyboard focus order after users configure the rail. Tab focus lands on the selected Left Rail area instead of Switch Display, which improves screen reader navigation clarity. (SITES-24754)
  • Fixed incorrect NVDA feedback during color-swatch navigation in the User Preferences modal. NVDA now reads the label for the swatch that receives focus, which removes misleading color output. The swatch set now supports consistent keyboard navigation and clear selection awareness. (SITES-24739)
  • Reduced verbose NVDA output for the Spin control. Removed redundant group labeling that duplicated the input label, so NVDA announces the control name once. Keyboard and screen reader navigation now delivers a single, clear announcement. (SITES-24725)
  • The Carousel dialog box now places focus at the dialog box heading instead of the Items tab. Cancel and Esc restore focus to the control that launched the dialog box, which reduces verbose NVDA output. (SITES-24716)
  • Link selection dialog now aligns the programmatic label with the on-screen label for last-level tree items. Arrow-key navigation triggers a reliable screen reader announcement for each item and removes misleading label output. (SITES-24710)
  • Link open selection dialog box now reflows correctly under a 320-px viewport. Content no longer overruns the modal or truncates, and the modal no longer shows a horizontal scrollbar. (SITES-24709)
  • Link open selection dialog box now restores keyboard focus to the dialog box trigger after Close or Cancel. Focus no longer jumps to the Link input, which keeps screen reader context stable and reduces extra navigation. (SITES-24707)
  • Image modal dialog now follows a logical focus sequence. Focus no longer skips earlier controls or drops on the page landmark after Cancel, and users regain focus on the Configure button after exit. (SITES-24693)
  • References Rail modal dialog box now traps keyboard focus. Tab and Shift+Tab stay inside dialog box controls, and focus no longer escapes to page content. Screen readers announce only dialog box content. (SITES-24683)
  • The Hyperlink Path Selection modal now sets focus on the dialog box heading at open. Cancel closes the dialog box and restores focus to the Open selection dialog box button, which prevents focus loss and redundant screen reader output. (SITES-24672)
  • The Search field now uses a persistent on-screen label instead of placeholder text. The label stays visible during entry, which improves clarity for keyboard, screen reader, and speech users. (SITES-24529)
  • Teaser modal dialog box now sets focus on the dialog box heading at open. Closing the dialog box returns focus to the Configure control, which prevents focus loss and excessive screen reader output. (SITES-24522)
  • Side Rail Assets panel now includes a Close control. Close returns keyboard focus to the Side Rail toggle and prevents forced tabbing through panel content. (SITES-24489)
  • Keyboard tabbing now reaches buttons and links inside admin tables. Users no longer rely on arrow-key cell navigation to find interactive controls. (SITES-24285)
  • The Image component dialog box no longer exposes decorative Help and Full Screen icons as images. Screen readers now skip these icons, keeping the focus on actionable controls and field content. (SITES-2940)
  • Sites Admin now removes the image role from folder thumbnail icons. Assistive technology skips these decorative elements, keeping the focus on folder names and actions. (SITES-2852)
  • Content Tree now routes keyboard focus to the active tree item or first tree item. The tree container no longer acts as an empty Tab stop, preventing Shift+Tab focus traps. (SITES-1577)

Admin user interface sites-adminui-65-lts-sp2

Sites console List View Settings did not reflect the columns shown in List View. The dialog box opened with cleared checkboxes and an incorrect selected-columns count. The fix syncs dialog box state with the active grid columns and updates the counter to match actual column visibility. (SITES-38576)

Classic user interface sites-classicui-65-lts-sp2

Classic UI text component editing displayed raw HTML tags instead of rich text after an upgrade. Service Pack 2 corrects Classic UI RTE (Rich Text Editor) rendering so the editor displays formatted content and preserves stored markup. The fix also stops markup expansion during repeated edits and saves. (SITES-38709)

Content Fragments sites-contentfragments-65-lts-sp2

Headless eventing support lacked required OSGi events for Content Fragments and Models in 6.5 LTS. The update adds the eventing bundle plus required dependencies and includes a 6.5 LTS build. Content Fragment and Model events now fire correctly and support Launches API workflows. (SITES-35329)

Content Fragments - Admin sites-admin-65-lts-sp2

  • Adjusted component handling in the Sites authoring interface to stop irregular behavior during page updates. The defect led to unpredictable editor responses that interfered with routine content modifications and reduced workflow efficiency. The update aligns editor logic with expected interaction patterns and delivers dependable performance during authoring activities. (SITES-35078) CRITICAL

  • A regression broke the Assets console List View for Content Fragments and triggered an error during list rendering. The update corrects list-view logic after preview-info removal and restores stable list output. The console now displays Content Fragments without failures and keeps list interactions usable. (SITES-38683)

  • Content Fragment Editor now localizes the Tags label. The editor also localizes the Collections label, so UI text matches the selected locale. (SITES-977)

Content Fragments - Fragments Editor sites-fragments-editor-65-lts-sp2

  • Content Fragment variation tags disappeared when the feature toggle remained disabled after refactoring. The fix restores variation tag support even when that toggle stays off. Authors can again add and view variation tags in the Content Fragment Editor. (SITES-38682) CRITICAL

  • Edited Content Fragments disappeared from the Assets console list after authors navigated back from the Content Fragment Editor. Browser caching returned a stale list and hid the updated fragment until a manual refresh. The fix adds cache-control handling for the editor return path so the list reloads correctly and keeps the edited fragment visible. (SITES-35374) CRITICAL

  • The Content Fragment RTE showed layout and visual issues after recent UI styling changes. Service Pack 2 refines RTE styling so the toolbar and editable area render correctly and remain readable. The Content Fragment Editor now aligns with the Page Editor look and behavior. (SITES-38684)

  • Removing IMS scopes from the Polaris Asset Selector broke Content Fragment integration with the delivery endpoint. Authors hit failures when opening the remote asset selector and selecting assets. The update re-adds the needed IMS scopes and restores stable delivery-tier access. (SITES-35837)

  • The Associated Content panel no longer renders a hardcoded “undefined” placeholder. The Content Fragment Editor now resolves that text through localization resources, so editors see translated UI text. (SITES-33675)

  • Content Fragment Editor now displays a translated General tab label across locales. The editor replaces unlocalized tab text and removes internal IDs from tab titles. (SITES-30715)
  • Content Fragment Editor now displays translated names for allowed asset types. The picker list no longer mixes internal strings and English-only labels when authors configure content reference restrictions. (SITES-29699)

Content Fragments - GraphQL API sites-graphql-api-65-lts-sp2

  • Refined GraphQL query validation handling to stop deployment failures caused by filter execution errors. The defect generated exceptions during application startup and blocked successful rollout in affected environments. The revision ensures consistent validation behavior and enables smooth deployment without runtime query validation interruptions. (SITES-34301) CRITICAL

  • The Edit GraphQL endpoint dialog box now displays localized UI strings. The dialog box no longer shows English-only text such as “GraphQL schema is taken from configuration,” and related labels render correctly across locales. (SITES-34018)

Content Fragments - GraphQL Query Editor sites-graphql-query-editor-65-lts-sp2

  • Refined GraphQL query validation handling to stop deployment failures caused by filter execution errors. The defect generated exceptions during application startup and blocked successful rollout in affected environments. The revision ensures consistent validation behavior and enables smooth deployment without runtime query validation interruptions. (SITES-35529)
  • GraphQL Explorer no longer fails when a Configuration Browser name contains CJK characters. Endpoint creation and saved query access work normally and the GraphQL Query Editor page stays error free. (SITES-31616)

Content Fragments - Model Editor sites-model-editor-65-lts-sp2

  • Nested Content Fragment models stopped working when refactoring tied the feature to a disabled toggle. The fix restores nested model support without requiring toggle changes. Authors can again create and use nested models in the Model Editor. (SITES-38681) CRITICAL

  • Content Fragment Models filter panel no longer exposes unlocalized strings. AEM now displays localized filter labels and localized status values across all locales. (SITES-30863)

  • Content Fragment Model Editor now renders localized strings for the lock warning dialog box. The UI replaces unlocalized English messages with locale resources across supported languages. (SITES-28592)

Content Fragments - REST API sites-restapi-65-lts-sp2

AEM Headless required a dedicated release branch to avoid dependency and bundle version conflicts with mainline builds. The update adds a release/6.5lts headless branch and aligns dependency sets and bundle versions. Jenkins now builds the headless codebase cleanly without version collisions. (SITES-36585)

Content API sites-content-api-65-lts-sp2

A feature-toggle defect misreported Page Management API status. The update adds a dedicated enablement flag and evaluates it alongside the existing toggle. Page Management API now shows stable status. The Site Management API remains experimental. (SITES-39284)

Core backend sites-core-backend-65-lts-sp2

  • A change in the Sites authoring experience to resolve inconsistent behavior that disrupted standard page editing workflows. Authors encountered unexpected results during component interaction, which interfered with content updates and reduced reliability. The change restores stable editor behavior and ensures consistent execution of authoring actions across affected scenarios. (SITES-35162) CRITICAL

  • Refined Sites authoring behavior to resolve an issue that disrupted page editing and caused inconsistent results during component interaction. Authors experienced unexpected UI responses that interfered with content updates and reduced workflow reliability. The change restores stable editor state management and ensures predictable execution of authoring actions across affected scenarios. (SITES-34499)

Launches sites-launches-65-lts-sp2

  • Sites Timeline showed hardcoded English text during Launch promotion: “Created version … before promoting launch.” The update replaces the hardcoded string with localized message handling. Timeline now displays localized text and aligns the entry with standard AEM localization behavior. (SITES-39157)
  • Launch promotion scope drifted when authors promoted a subsection using Promote current page and sub pages. AEM also promoted unrelated pages and caused unexpected live-site modifications. The fix corrects the Launch scope calculation so only the chosen subtree promotes. (SITES-38315)
  • Content Fragments inside Launches did not participate in the damAssetLucene index and limited search results and query efficiency. This change adds Launch Content Fragment paths to the index definition. Search and custom queries now find Content Fragments under /content/launches. (SITES-35634)
  • Launches UI showed Content Fragment Launch controls even though the product does not expose Content Fragment Launches in Touch UI. This change strips Content Fragment Launch code paths from cq-launches-content and adjusts Launch list filtering. Authors now see consistent page Launch options without Content Fragment Launch entries. (SITES-35633)
  • AEM 6.5 LTS Quickstart lacked required Launches bundles and prerequisites, which blocked Launches OpenAPI enablement. The update adds Launches bundles and required dependencies, such as metrics support, DAM-cfm updates, and queue configuration. Launches APIs now run on 6.5 LTS Quickstart with the required runtime components present. (SITES-35297)
  • CF Launches packaging pulled newer dependency versions and unnecessary GraphQL libraries, which complicated AEM 6.5 LTS integration. This change aligns dependency versions with the AEM 6.5 LTS baseline and strips unused GraphQL dependencies. Bundle resolution now stays consistent and CF Launches startup remains stable. (SITES-35295)
  • AEM Launches now runs a dedicated Jenkins pipeline for the 6.5 LTS branch. The pipeline runs nightly builds and sends failure alerts by email. This setup increases test coverage and catches regressions early. (SITES-35293)
  • AEM 6.5 LTS now ships an updated Launches API bundle with aligned artifact versions. The bundle tracks the primary code line while keeping the correct 6.5 LTS release version. This update stabilizes Launches API consumption across the 6.5 LTS stack. (SITES-35292)
  • AEM 6.5 LTS now includes an updated launches-core bundle with aligned dependency versions. The update adds launches-core handling for Fragment UUID and Reference UUID data types. Launch processing now keeps consistent behavior across Launches and Content Fragment workflows. (SITES-35290)
  • Refined the Sites editor to resolve inconsistent behavior that disrupted normal page authoring workflows. Authors encountered unexpected component interaction that interfered with content updates and reduced editing reliability. The change restores consistent UI state management and ensures predictable execution of authoring actions across affected scenarios. (SITES-35138)
  • Launches Edit now shows localized error text instead of the hardcoded Provided path is not a launch string. The UI now renders translated messaging across languages when Edit receives an invalid launch path. (SITES-33360)
  • AEM 6.5 LTS now includes the Launches OpenAPI side-port work. The update brings Launches API bundles, content packages, and required Quickstart artifacts into parity and enables Content Fragment Launches OpenAPI scenarios with stable CI validation. (SITES-32050)
  • Launches UI now localizes the Overridden template label. Template override details now display translated text instead of an English-only string. (SITES-29525)
  • AEM resolved a missing localization key in Sites > Launches > Edit. Users now see a translated error message instead of the raw “Unable to update launch source list” string. (SITES-21499)
  • Launch promotion UI now displays localized status labels and actions. The preview area shows translated text for Deleted, New, and View, rather than raw English strings. (SITES-13540)
  • Launch creation now shows localized error messages. UI no longer displays raw English strings, such as Unable to create launch page, Source root resource is not a page, or Mandatory parameter is missing. (SITES-13085)

MSM - Live Copies sites-msm-live-copies-65-lts-sp2

  • Administrators had limited visibility into MSM push-on-modify processing during content changes. The fix adds detailed logging around MSM event reception and rollout execution. Debug output now shows which events fired, which content paths changed, and who triggered the change. (SITES-38029)
  • AEM fixed a localization layout issue on the Blueprint Rollout date field. The date prompt now fits the control and remains readable across supported languages, including fr_FR. (SITES-14961)

Replication sites-replication-65-lts-sp2

Page Editor publishing now handles URLs containing selectors or suffixes. The published request now sends the JCR page path, not a selector or suffix URL string, so activation completes and content goes live. Replication now returns an error status on failure, which prevents false “publication started” messages. (NPR-43288)

Template Editor sites-template-editor-65-lts-sp2

Template status text displayed vertically in Tools > General > Templates for some locales. The “outdated” label broke the layout and read as a column of characters. The fix corrects template status styling so the label renders on a single horizontal line. (SITES-36797)

Universal editor sites-universal-editor-65-lts-sp2

  • An OSGi default configuration was set as preview=true and forced Universal Editor to start in Preview mode. This update corrects the default value and restores the standard Production entry behavior. Universal Editor now opens in Production mode unless an admin explicitly enables Preview mode. (SITES-37193)
  • The Universal Editor Open command now defaults to Preview mode in Dev and Stage environments. The command adds preview=true, which keeps author checks aligned with preview context and avoids accidental Production opens. (SITES-33839)

Assets assets-65-lts-sp2

Assets Relate now works for filenames that include spaces. Updated Relate client logic now handles space-containing paths correctly and avoids undefined source errors during relation selection. The Relate dialog box now opens and saves relations without UI hangs or spinners. DAM users can relate, derive, and unrelate assets without renaming files. (Assets-56418)

Dynamic Media assets-dm-65-lts-sp2

  • New Dynamic Media video player integration (limited rollout) - A new Dynamic Media video player experience is now available in AEM 6.6 Quickstart. This enhancement is currently enabled only for initial customers as part of a controlled rollout. (Assets-60165)
  • Resolved an issue where the Select Thumbnail option in the video properties dialog box did not open the asset picker, restoring the ability for users to choose custom thumbnails for video assets. (Assets‑58926)
  • In Dynamic Media video, support was added for selecting Arabic in the Subtitles & Audio Tracks language drop-down list, letting authors manage Arabic subtitles directly in AEM. (Assets‑61771)

Forms forms-65-lts-sp2

Forms

  • In AEM Forms 6.5 LTS cluster deployments on JBoss EAP 8, domain/configuration/domain_oracle.xml no longer contains a duplicate <security> tag that caused invalid XML and prevented the Domain Controller from starting. (FORMS-24687)
  • In Turnkey Upgrade Mode, updating the database port in lc_turnkey.xml is now applied correctly during upgrade and no longer references the old port value. (FORMS-24689)
  • When setting up JBoss EAP 8.0 on Linux, shell scripts modified on Windows no longer cause /bin/sh^M: bad interpreter or $'\r': command not found errors due to CRLF line endings. (FORMS-24688)

Foundation foundation-65-lts-sp2

Apache Felix foundation-apachefelix-65-lts-sp2

  • Sling Resource Access Security now runs on version 1.1.2. ResourceAccessSecurityImpl no longer throws a ClassCastException during initialization when multiple ResourceAccessGateHandler services register. Initialization now completes reliably and avoids startup failures in environments with multiple handlers. (NPR-42750)
  • JMX Console and Web Console now send a Content-Type: text/css header for console CSS resources. Strict MIME checking no longer blocks style sheet loading, so the /system/console/jmx UI renders with normal styling. (GRANITE-63677)
  • AEM now avoids duplicate ACL entries for the contributor group in the generated WEB-INF/resources/provisioning/model.txt. The WAR output now contains one consistent ACL block, which prevents confusing permission diffs during review. (GRANITE-63269)
  • AEM no longer clears Deserialization Firewall blocklist and allowlist settings during bundle refresh operations. Updated filter registration logic keeps the active firewall instance aligned with the saved configuration, so protection stays enabled without a restart. (GRANITE-61382)
  • Felix Web Console no longer throws intermittent NullPointerException errors during /system/console access. Updated ServiceTracker handling prevents a null tracker state. Console login and navigation remain stable during repeated requests and automated validation. (GRANITE-61042)

CRX foundation-crx-65-lts-sp2

CRXDE Lite no longer shows a blank tab when you open a JSP file after a Service Pack upgrade. AEM now ships matching CodeMirror core and add-on code, which prevents the fatal browser error and keeps the editor usable. (GRANITE-64333)

Granite foundation-granite-65-lts-sp2

Expression Security Validator now handles empty or null OSGi configuration values. It applies safe defaults, ignores empty arrays, and records clear logs, preventing NullPointerException and unpredictable validation results. (NPR-43163)

Integrations foundation-integrations-65-lts-sp2

AEM now syncs Adobe Target activities even when start and end dates exist. The Target payload now formats activity dates as full ISO 8601 timestamps, including seconds, milliseconds, and timezone. Target no longer rejects the request with InvalidJson.Json. Scheduled activities now move to a synced state instead of staying out of sync. (CQ-4360733)

Oak foundation-oak-65-lts-sp2

AEM 6.5 LTS Service Pack 2 requires S3 Connector 1.60.10 or later. The S3 datastore configuration now includes crossRegionAccess and mode so admins can enable cross-region bucket access and switch storage to GCP when needed. The s3EndPoint now expects a region aligned to s3Region, or it remains empty so the driver generates the endpoint. (GRANITE-64873)

Quickstart foundation-quickstart-65-lts-sp2

  • Sling updates the administrative-login allowlist to use inclusive terminology and new configuration PIDs. This change aligns with Sling JCR Base 3.2.0. (GRANITE-63756)

    Impact

    • Sling deprecates these PIDs and you should remove them from your configurations:

      • Factory PID: org.apache.sling.jcr.base.internal.LoginAdminWhitelist.fragment
      • Global PID: org.apache.sling.jcr.base.internal.LoginAdminWhitelist
        These older configurations use properties, such as whitelist.name and whitelist.bundles.

    • Sling still provides partial backward compatibility for the deprecated PIDs, but do not use them for new configurations. Use the newer LoginAdminAllowList.* PIDs instead.

    • Do not run deprecated and new allowlist configurations at the same time. Mixed configurations can create ambiguity and produce unintended behavior. When you migrate to AEM 6.5 LTS SP2, remove the deprecated PIDs completely.

    What you should do

    1. Find allowlist configurations that use LoginAdminWhitelist* PIDs.

    2. Replace them with the appropriate new PIDs:

      • Factory PID: org.apache.sling.jcr.base.LoginAdminAllowList.fragment
      • Global PID: org.apache.sling.jcr.base.LoginAdminAllowList

      For additional details, see Deprecated approach to allowlist bundles for administrative login.

  • AEM 6.5 LTS SP2 updates the foundation layer bundle set for Sling, Oak, and Felix. These upgrades strengthen core runtime stability and align dependency versions across the platform. (GRANITE-61874)

Sling foundation-sling-65-lts-sp2

AEM now includes Sling Engine 2.16.6. This change eliminates XSS violations flagged by security tools and improves core rendering safety and stability. (NPR-43105)

WCM foundation-wcm-65-lts-sp2

AEM Translations no longer fails on Java 17 or Java 21 due to XLIFF format issues. The export pipeline now produces standards-compliant XLIFF that translation providers accept. This change removes translation job interruptions and restores predictable handoff between AEM and translation services. Translation workflows now remain stable across supported Java runtimes. (CQ-4360217)

Workflow foundation-workflow-65-lts-sp2

EmailNotificationService-Processor no longer triggers repeated “Segment not found” errors during workflow notification handling. Updated exception handling detects SegmentNotFoundException and stops the processing loop instead of continuing with invalid reads. Workflow execution remains stable and log noise drops during inbox and work item access. (GRANITE-62635)

About Experience Manager Foundation experience-manager-foundation

The platform of Adobe Experience Manager 6.5 LTS builds on top of updated versions of the OSGi-based framework (Apache Sling and Apache Felix) and the Java™ Content Repository: Apache Jackrabbit Oak 1.68.x.

Eclipse Jetty 11.0.x is used as a servlet engine for the Quickstart.

Java™ support java-support

  • Support for Java™ 17 and Java™ 21.
  • For optimal performance, override the default GC values with other values. For more information, see the install and update section.
  • Adobe distributes Java™ 17 and Java™ 21 maintenance updates for customer usage in AEM-related projects, when not publicly available from Oracle.

Uberjar packaging uber-jar-packaging

The UberJar for AEM 6.5 LTS SP2 uses the AEM 6.5 LTS UberJar version 6.6.2. You can retrieve the corresponding UberJar artifacts from the Maven Central Repository. Unlike AEM 6.5, AEM 6.5 LTS separates public APIs and deprecated APIs into two different artifacts.

To compile against the public APIs, use the following:

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.adobe.aem</groupId>
    <artifactId>uber-jar</artifactId>
    <version>6.6.2</version>
    <classifier>apis</classifier>
    <scope>provided</scope>
</dependency>

If your code also depends on deprecated APIs, add the following:

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.adobe.aem</groupId>
    <artifactId>uber-jar</artifactId>
    <version>6.6.2</version>
    <classifier>deprecated-apis</classifier>
    <scope>provided</scope>
</dependency>

See also Update the AEM Uber Jar version.

Upgrade upgrade

Best practices for AEM 6.5 LTS Service Pack upgrades

Environment
Applies to: AEM 6.5 LTS (On-Premise) customers installing Service Pack 2 (SP2). SP2 is delivered as a Quickstart JAR.

Why this matters
SP2 for AEM 6.5 LTS ships as a Quickstart JAR rather than a ZIP to install through Package Manager. On-prem customers upgrade by replacing the Quickstart JAR, unpacking it, and restarting. This method is consistent with Adobe’s in-place upgrade procedure.

Recommended upgrade flow (Author or Publish)

  1. Verify that your AEM 6.5 LTS instance is healthy and accessible.

  2. Download the Quickstart JAR (for example, cq-quickstart-6.6.x.jar) from Software Distribution.

  3. Stop the running instance.

  4. In the AEM install directory (outside crx-quickstart/), replace the previous Quickstart JAR with the SP2 JAR.

  5. Unpack the JAR:

    code language-java 
    java -jar cq-quickstart-6.6.x.jar -unpack

    (Adjust heap flags as needed.)

  6. Rename the unpacked JAR to match the role and port, for example cq-author-4502.jar or cq-publish-4503.jar.

  7. Start AEM and confirm the upgrade in the UI (Help > About) and logs.

Good hygiene

  • Run the upgrade in lower/test environments before production.
  • Take a full, restorable backup (repository plus any external datastores) before you begin.
  • Review Adobe’s in-place upgrade guidance and technical requirements (Java 17/21 recommended for LTS).
NOTE
File names shown above (for example, cq-quickstart-6.6.x.jar) reflect the Quickstart artifact naming observed for this LTS release; always use the exact file name you download from Software Distribution.

Install and update install-update

For setup requirements, see installation instructions.

NOTE
If you are directly upgrading to LTS SP1 from old 6.5 SPs, follow the instructions given for 6.5 to 6.5 LTS GA upgrade.

For detailed instructions, see the upgrade documentation.

NOTE
For fresh AEM 6.5 LTS installations, index definitions must be installed separately. For more information, see this article.

Install and update AEM Forms add-on install-update-aem-forms-add-on

For detailed instructions, see Performing an In-Place Upgrade.

Supported platforms supported-platforms

Find the complete matrix of supported platforms including support-level on AEM 6.5 LTS technical requirements.

NOTE
Java™ 17/Java™ 21 are the recommended versions to use with AEM 6.5 LTS.

Deprecated and removed features deprecated-and-removed-features

Adobe continually reviews and evolves product capabilities to deliver greater customer value by modernizing or replacing legacy features. These changes are implemented with careful consideration for backward compatibility.

To ensure transparency and allow adequate planning, Adobe follows this deprecation process for Adobe Experience Manager (AEM):

  • Deprecation is announced first. Deprecated capabilities remain available but are no longer enhanced.
  • Removal occurs no earlier than the next major release. The planned removal timeline is communicated separately.
  • A minimum of one release cycle is provided for customers to transition to supported alternatives before a capability is removed.

Deprecated features deprecated-features

This section lists features and capabilities that Adobe has deprecated in AEM 6.5 LTS. Typically, Adobe deprecates features before removing them in a future release and provides an alternative.

Customers are advised to review if they use the feature/capability in their current deployment, and make plans to change their implementation to use the alternative provided.

Area
Feature
Replacement
Version (SP)
Quickstart
Mongo APIs
Mongo APIs are now deprecated and are planned for removal in future releases.
6.5 TS SP2
Sites
Content Fragment support in the AEM Assets REST API
AEM 6.5 LTS SP2 provides modern OpenAPIs for Content Fragment and Model Management, so the older Content Fragment Support endpoints in the AEM Assets REST API are now deprecated.
Adobe intends to keep these older endpoints available until an end-of-life announcement. Adobe does not plan further enhancements for the deprecated endpoints.
6.5 LTS SP2
Sites
SPA Editor
The preferred editors for managing headless content in AEM are:
- The Universal Editor for visual editing.
- The Content Fragment Editor for form-based editing.
6.5 LTS GA
Foundation
Support for com.adobe.granite.oauth.server
Adobe IMS Integration

Removed features removed-features

This section lists features and capabilities that have been removed from AEM 6.5 LTS. Prior releases had these capabilities marked as deprecated.

  • Support for RDBMK for CRX repository persistence has been removed.
  • In clustered environments, MongoMK is now the only supported option for repository persistence.
Area
Feature
Replacement
Version (SP)
Commerce
AEM CIF Classic is not supported.
Migrate to AEM CIF.
6.5 LTS GA
Solutions
Social/Communities is not supported.
No replacement available.
6.5 LTS GA
Screens
Screens are not supported.
No replacement available.
6.5 LTS GA
Assets
dam-pim and dam-rating are not supported as bundles are dependent on social.
No replacement available.
6.5 LTS GA
Assets
com.day.cq.dam.scene7.api.model.Scene7ViewerConfig#getSettings() has been removed.
Use the alternate api com.day.cq.dam.scene7.api.model.Scene7ViewerConfig#getSettingsList() that has been added.
6.5 LTS GA
Portal
AEM Portal Director is not supported.
No replacement available.
6.5 LTS GA
Granite
Bundle com.adobe.granite.socketio is removed.
No replacement available.
6.5 LTS GA
Granite
com.adobe.granite.crx-explorer is not supported.
No replacement available.
6.5 LTS GA
Granite
crx2oak is not supported.
Pick the relevant version of Oak-upgrade
6.5 LTS GA
Adobe
com.adobe.cq.cq-searchpromote-integration is not supported.
No replacement available.
6.5 LTS GA
Guava
All guava dependencies are now removed in AEM and hence the com.adobe.granite.osgi.wrapper.guava-15.0.0-0002 bundle is not part of AEM.
Customers can add guava on their own if they are dependent on guava or replace guava code with java collections or other alternates if possible.
6.5 LTS GA
We.Retail
We-retail sample site is not supported.
No replacement available.
6.5 LTS GA
Open Source
oak-solr-osgi bundle is not supported.
No replacement available.
6.5 LTS GA
Open Source
org.apache.servicemix.bundles.abdera-parser, org.apache.servicemix.bundles.jdom and org.apache.sling.atom.taglib are not supported.
No replacement available.
6.5 LTS GA
Open Source
org.apache.commons.io packages are now exported from org.apache.commons.commons-io.
No change required.
6.5 LTS GA
Open Source
javax.mail packages are being exported from the com.sun.javax.mail bundle.
No change required.
6.5 LTS GA
Open Source
org.apache.jackrabbit.api packages now are exported from the org.apache.jackrabbit.oak-jackrabbit-api bundle.
No change required.
6.5 LTS GA
Open Source
com.github.jknack.handlebars is not supported
Pick the relevant version
6.5 LTS GA

Known issues known-issues

AEM Forms

  • FORMS-24690: In Configuration Manager, Database Initialization fails during bootstrap when running AEM Forms 6.5 LTS JEE in Turnkey mode with Custom configuration if no module is selected.

  • FORMS-24692: Mail Service may fail to establish a TLS socket connection, causing email delivery to fail.

  • FORMS-24741: In AEM Forms 6.5 LTS JEE on Linux, Configuration Manager may fail if OSFileSetIntendedFor is not set correctly. Update it to Linux in the required configuration files before running Configuration Manager.

Repository corruption during online compaction after offline compaction (GRANITE-65146) repository-corruption-during-online-compaction-after-offline-compaction-granite-65146

Users can experience repository corruption during online compaction if offline compaction was previously run on the JCR repository. A SegmentNotFoundException (SNFE) can occur in this scenario and can lead to repository corruption.

To resolve the issue, install the Hotfix from Software Distribution. Because the hotfix includes a low-level oak-segment-tar bundle, the instance restarts after installation.

Plan for the downtime of the instance when applying it. For offline compaction, use the corresponding oak-run jar, also available on Software Distribution.

NOTE

  • For any oak-run operations, use the oak-run 1.88.1-B006 jar.

  • Start AEM by setting the system property oak.compaction.legacy=true.

Install required Oak indexes for Sites Headless APIs site-headless-api

Some APIs that moved to Sites Headless require additional Oak indexes for full functionality.

Install the cq-dam-cfm-indices package to use the following features:

  • List Content Fragment Models
  • List Content Fragments
  • Search API
  • Workflows

Download the index package cq-dam-cfm-indices from the Adobe Software Distribution portal.

Dispatcher connection failure with SSL-only feature (Fixed in AEM 6.5 LTS SP1 and later) ssl-only-feature

NOTE
This issue is only present in the AEM 6.5 LTS GA release.

When enabling the SSL-only feature in AEM deployments, there is a known issue that affects connectivity between the Dispatcher and AEM instances. After enabling this feature, health checks may fail and communication between Dispatcher and AEM instances can be disrupted. This issue specifically occurs when customers attempt to connect through https + IP from the Dispatcher to AEM instances. It is related to SNI (Server Name Indication) validation problems.

Impact

  • Health check failures with HTTP 400 response codes
  • Broken traffic between Dispatcher and AEM instances
  • Content cannot be properly served through the Dispatcher
  • Connection failures when using HTTPS with IP addresses in Dispatcher configuration
  • HTTP 400 “Invalid SNI” errors when connecting via HTTPS + IP

Affected environments

  • AEM deployments with Dispatcher configurations
  • Systems where the SSL-only feature has been enabled
  • Dispatcher configurations using https + IP connection method to AEM instances

Solution

If you experience this issue, please contact Adobe Customer Support. A hotfix cq-6.5.lts.0-hotfix-CQ-4359803 is available to resolve this problem. Do not attempt to enable SSL-only features until applying the necessary hotfix.

OSGi bundles and content packages included osgi-bundles-and-content-packages-included

The following text documents list the OSGi bundles and Content Packages included in this Experience Manager 6.5 LTS, Service Pack 1 release:

Restricted websites restricted-sites

These websites are only available to customers. If you are a customer and need access, contact your Adobe account manager.

recommendation-more-help
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