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ColdfusionApplication · Adobe

CVE-2018-15957

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2018-09-25
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Adobe ColdFusion versions July 12 release (2018.0.0.310739), Update 6 and earlier, and Update 14 and earlier have a deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.

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 confidence

Adobe ColdFusion suffers from a deserialization vulnerability where untrusted data is deserialized without proper validation, allowing attackers to craft malicious serialized objects that execute arbitrary code when processed by the application.

MitigationApply the appropriate ColdFusion security update (either Update 15 for version 2018 or the latest available patch for other supported versions) to address the unsafe deserialization. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to ColdFusion endpoints and implement input validation layers.

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
ColdfusionApplication
Affected:= 11.0= 2016= 2018

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify ColdFusion installation and version
    Access the ColdFusion Administrator console (typically at /cfide/administrator/) and check the version displayed on the welcome page, or locate the version.txt file in the ColdFusion installation directory (for example, in the root install folder).
    Affected if The installed version is 11.0, 2016, or 2018.
  2. Check for exposure of deserialization endpoints
    Review the ColdFusion Administrator settings under 'Server Settings' > 'Settings' and check if 'Flash Remoting' or 'Java Applets' are enabled. Also review any exposed web services or API endpoints that accept serialized data.
    Affected if Flash Remoting or other deserialization endpoints are enabled and accessible over the network.
  3. Verify deserialization configuration in neo-drivers.xml
    Locate and inspect the neo-drivers.xml file in the ColdFusion lib directory (typically at /lib/neo-drivers.xml). Search for JDBC or other data driver configurations that may handle serialized objects.
    Affected if Data drivers or serialization features are configured without proper validation filters.
  4. Inspect web.xml for deserialization servlet mappings
    Examine the web.xml file in the ColdFusion/WEB-INF directory for servlet mappings related to BlazeDS, AMF (Action Message Format), or other serialization protocols.
    Affected if AMF or BlazeDS endpoints are mapped and accessible without additional access controls.
  5. Review network accessibility of ColdFusion ports
    Use netstat or equivalent tooling to confirm which network ports and interfaces ColdFusion is listening on, particularly the Flash Remoting port (typically 8500 or 80) and any RMI ports.
    Affected if ColdFusion is listening on externally accessible network interfaces without firewall restrictions.

You are affected if ColdFusion version 11.0, 2016, or 2018 is installed AND deserialization features such as Flash Remoting, AMF, or exposed API endpoints are enabled and accessible.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the appropriate ColdFusion security update (either Update 15 for version 2018 or the latest available patch for other supported versions) to address the unsafe deserialization. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to ColdFusion endpoints and implement input validation layers.

Fix this in Coldfusion Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,920
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-15957 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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