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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 3 May 2022.
ColdfusionApplication · Adobe

CVE-2018-15961

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
In the wild High EPSS Public exploit 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 an unrestricted file upload 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 has an unrestricted file upload vulnerability in versions July 12 release (2018.0.0.310739), Update 6 and earlier, and Update 14 and earlier. Attackers can upload malicious files without proper validation, leading to arbitrary code execution on the affected server.

MitigationApply the appropriate ColdFusion update/patch to address the unrestricted file upload vulnerability and implement strict file type validation on any upload endpoints.

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 installed version
    Check the version via the ColdFusion Administrator interface (typically at /cfide/administrator/) or by examining the license.properties file in the ColdFusion installation directory. On Windows, this is often in C:\ColdFusion2018\ or similar path. On Linux, check /opt/coldfusion/ or /usr/local/coldfusion/. You can also check the cfusion/lib/neo-java.xml file or run 'cfconfig' command if available.
    Affected if The installed version is ColdFusion 11.0 (any update prior to the fix), ColdFusion 2016 (Update 6 or earlier), or ColdFusion 2018 (Update 14 or earlier, or the July 12 2018.0.0.310739 release). Compare your exact version number against these ranges.
  2. Confirm file upload endpoint is accessible
    Identify if the FCKeditor or similar file upload functionality (commonly at /fckeditor/editor/filemanager/ or /cfide/scripts/ajax/ file upload endpoints) is exposed on the web server. Check the web server configuration (IIS httpd.conf or Apache httpd.conf) and the ColdFusion mapping settings for these paths.
    Affected if The file upload endpoints (particularly FCKeditor or legacy upload handlers) are accessible without authentication on the public-facing web interface.
  3. Inspect upload directories for suspicious files
    Review the web root and upload directories for recently created or unfamiliar files with extensions such as .cfm, .cfml, .jsp, .asp, .php, .exe, or .phtml. Common upload locations include /uploads/, /userfiles/, /images/, and the FCKeditor upload folders. Check file creation timestamps.
    Affected if Unexpected executable files (.cfm scripts, web shells, or binary files) exist in web-accessible directories, particularly in upload folders, with creation dates after the suspected compromise window.
  4. Review web server access logs for upload activity
    Examine web server access logs (IIS logs in %SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\LogFiles or Apache logs in /var/log/httpd/ or /var/log/apache2/) for POST requests to upload endpoints. Look for unusual user-agents, multiple upload attempts from single IPs, or requests to .cfm/.jsp files immediately after upload.
    Affected if Logs show unauthenticated POST requests to file upload endpoints, particularly FCKeditor or legacy handlers, followed by requests to newly uploaded files that execute code.
  5. Check for unauthorized ColdFusion scheduled tasks
    Log into ColdFusion Administrator and review the scheduled tasks (under Debugging & Logging > Scheduled Tasks) for any tasks created by attackers that periodically execute uploaded scripts or fetch remote payloads. Also check the cfusion/lib/neo-cron.xml file directly.
    Affected if Scheduled tasks exist that you did not create, particularly those executing files from user upload directories or fetching remote resources.

You are likely affected if your ColdFusion installation is version 11.0, 2016 (Update 6 or earlier), or 2018 (Update 14 or earlier/July 12 2018 release) AND the file upload functionality is exposed to unauthenticated users.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the appropriate ColdFusion update/patch to address the unrestricted file upload vulnerability and implement strict file type validation on any upload endpoints.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Adobe ColdFusion 2018 Update 14+, ColdFusion 2016 Update 14+, or ColdFusion 11 Update 6+ (or migrate to the latest available version)

  1. 1. Identify your current ColdFusion version and update level by accessing the ColdFusion Administrator dashboard.
  2. 2. For ColdFusion 2018: Apply the security hotfix for CVE-2018-15961 (Adobe ColdFusion 2018 Update 14 or later).
  3. 3. For ColdFusion 2016: Apply the security hotfix for CVE-2018-15961 (Adobe ColdFusion 2016 Update 14 or later).
  4. 4. For ColdFusion 11: Apply the security hotfix for CVE-2018-15961 (Adobe ColdFusion 11 Update 6 or later).
  5. 5. After applying the update, verify the patch was installed successfully via the ColdFusion Administrator.
  6. 6. Restart the ColdFusion application server to ensure all changes take effect.
  7. 7. Test that file upload functionality works correctly and that malicious file uploads are now blocked.
Caveat Hotfixes are cumulative; applying them should not introduce breaking changes but always test in a non-production environment first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Coldfusion Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,440
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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-2018-15961 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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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