Comprehensive Explanation

Adobe Experience Manager uses Access Control Lists (ACLs) to manage repository permissions for users and groups.

In the traditional AEM Author-Publish architecture, ACLs should be configured independently on the Author and Publish environments because these instances serve different security and operational purposes.

The Author environment manages content creation, editing, approvals, and administrative operations. Its ACLs typically grant content authors, editors, and administrators access to designated repository locations and functions.

The Publish environment serves content to website visitors and external applications. Its permissions generally require a more restrictive configuration to prevent unauthorized modification or exposure of repository content.

Adobe explicitly documents that page permissions are not replicated during user activation because ACL entries are stored under the repository nodes where access is granted rather than being maintained exclusively within user profiles.

Option B refers to a Preview environment, which is not one of the two traditional environments addressed by this replication behavior.

Option C identifies an editing activity rather than a separate AEM environment.

Therefore, ACLs must be maintained separately on the Author and Publish instances.

Adobe recommends this separation because automatically copying Author permissions to Publish could expose content-management capabilities that should remain inaccessible to public users.

Official Adobe Reference: Troubleshooting Replication — Page Permissions Are Not Replicated on User Activation.