CVE-2016-4159
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 · uneditedCross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Adobe ColdFusion 10 before Update 20, 11 before Update 9, and 2016 before Update 2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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 · moderate confidenceCross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Adobe ColdFusion versions 10 before Update 20, 11 before Update 9, and 2016 before Update 2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors. The medium severity (CVSS 6.1) indicates the attack is relatively easy to exploit and can impact confidentiality and integrity.
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= 10.0= 11.0= 2016CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
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 product versionLog in to the ColdFusion Administrator interface and navigate to the System Information or Settings page to view the installed version number. Alternatively, check the version.txt or any version file in the ColdFusion installation directory.Affected if The version displayed is 10.0, 11.0, or 2016 (without knowing the specific update level, these base versions indicate potential exposure)
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Check installed updates for ColdFusion 10In the ColdFusion Administrator under Settings or Updates, view the list of installed hotfixes and updates. Look specifically for Update 20 or higher.Affected if Update 20 or higher is NOT installed for ColdFusion 10, meaning the version is before the patched release
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Check installed updates for ColdFusion 11In the ColdFusion Administrator under Settings or Updates, view the list of installed hotfixes and updates. Look specifically for Update 9 or higher.Affected if Update 9 or higher is NOT installed for ColdFusion 11, meaning the version is before the patched release
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Check installed updates for ColdFusion 2016In the ColdFusion Administrator under Settings or Updates, view the list of installed hotfixes and updates. Look specifically for Update 2 or higher.Affected if Update 2 or higher is NOT installed for ColdFusion 2016, meaning the version is before the patched release
The environment is affected if ColdFusion 10 is below Update 20, ColdFusion 11 is below Update 9, or ColdFusion 2016 is below Update 2.
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.
From vendor dataApply the vendor-supplied security updates: Update 20 for ColdFusion 10, Update 9 for ColdFusion 11, and Update 2 for ColdFusion 2016. After patching, validate that the ColdFusion administrator and all deployed applications function correctly.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-4159 — 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-2016-4159 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data