Upgrade strategy for geoserver 2.1.4 to 2.5.x

I have a 2.1.4. geoserver installation and I wish to upgrade to the latest version which is currently 2.5.2. Can I do this at once by installing the latest version or is it wise to do an intermediate step via geoserver 2.2. and upgrade further from there?
I noticed for instance that since geoserver 2.2.0 some security changes have been applied. Is it wise to get past this upgrade first and then upgrade further?