CVE-2010-2861
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedMultiple directory traversal vulnerabilities in the administrator console in Adobe ColdFusion 9.0.1 and earlier allow remote attackers to read arbitrary files via the locale parameter to (1) CFIDE/administrator/settings/mappings.cfm, (2) logging/settings.cfm, (3) datasources/index.cfm, (4) j2eepackaging/editarchive.cfm, and (5) enter.cfm in CFIDE/administrator/.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceMultiple directory traversal vulnerabilities in Adobe ColdFusion 9.0.1 and earlier allow unauthenticated remote attackers to read arbitrary server files by manipulating the 'locale' parameter in multiple administrator console CFML files (CFIDE/administrator/settings/mappings.cfm, logging/settings.cfm, datasources/index.cfm, j2eepackaging/editarchive.cfm, and enter.cfm).
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 9.0.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify ColdFusion installation and versionCheck the ColdFusion version by accessing the administrator console login page (CFIDE/administrator/enter.cfm) or by checking the registry key (HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\ColdFusion\CurrentVersion) on Windows. Look for the version number displayed in the page source or about section.Affected if ColdFusion version is 9.0.1 or earlier (including 9.0, 8.0, 7.x, etc.)
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Verify CFIDE/administrator is network accessibleAttempt to access http(s)://<your-server>/CFIDE/administrator/ from an external host or check if port 80/443 is open to untrusted networks. Review firewall rules and web server configuration to confirm exposure.Affected if The CFIDE/administrator directory is reachable from untrusted networks without IP restriction.
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Confirm vulnerable parameters are functionalSend a test request to one of the affected endpoints using the locale parameter with a directory traversal payload, such as: GET /CFIDE/administrator/settings/mappings.cfm?locale=../../../../../../../../etc/passwd HTTP/1.1. Check if the server returns file contents outside the web root.Affected if The server returns the contents of arbitrary files (like /etc/passwd or Windows\\system32\\drivers\\etc\\hosts) in the response.
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Review web server access logs for exploitation attemptsSearch web server logs (IIS logs, Apache access.log, or ColdFusion logs) for requests to CFIDE/administrator/* pages containing patterns like '../' or '..\' in the locale parameter, indicating probing or exploitation attempts.Affected if Logs contain directory traversal attempts to CFIDE/administrator endpoints with the locale parameter.
You are affected if ColdFusion version is 9.0.1 or earlier AND the CFIDE/administrator console is accessible from untrusted networks, allowing unauthenticated directory traversal via the locale parameter.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedApply Adobe's hotfix for CVE-2010-2861 or upgrade to ColdFusion 9.0.2 or later; as an interim control, disable or restrict network access to the CFIDE/administrator/ directory.
ColdFusion 9.0.2 or later, or apply Adobe hotfix APSB10-18
- 1. Verify the current ColdFusion version by accessing the ColdFusion Administrator console or checking the version file
- 2. Download and install Adobe ColdFusion 9.0.2 or later from the Adobe website (official Adobe licensing required)
- 3. Alternatively, apply the official Adobe security hotfix APSB10-18 specifically for CVE-2010-2861
- 4. After upgrading, verify the vulnerability is remediated by attempting to access the affected paths with the locale parameter
- 5. If upgrading is not immediately possible, disable or restrict access to the ColdFusion Administrator console (CFIDE/administrator/) using web server configuration or IP restrictions
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-2861 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2010-2861 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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