dbcve.org
ColdfusionApplication · Adobe

CVE-2019-7816

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-05-24
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
High EPSS 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
ColdFusion versions Update 2 and earlier, Update 9 and earlier, and Update 17 and earlier have a file upload restriction bypass 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

ColdFusion versions prior to Update 3, Update 10, and Update 18 contain a file upload restriction bypass that allows attackers to upload malicious files (e.g., web shells) to the server, leading to arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability is network-exploitable with no authentication required, making it critical.

MitigationApply the appropriate ColdFusion update (Update 3 or later for older branches, Update 10 or later, Update 18 or later) to the affected installations. Until patched, disable or restrict file upload functionality at the web server or WAF level.

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:3.0/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 installed ColdFusion version and update level
    Access the ColdFusion Administrator interface or check the version.info file in the ColdFusion installation directory. The version can also be obtained via the /CFIDE/adminapi/base.cfc?method=getVersion API endpoint if exposed.
    Affected if The installed version is ColdFusion 11.0 before Update 3, ColdFusion 2016 before Update 10, or ColdFusion 2018 before Update 18.
  2. Confirm file upload functionality is accessible
    Check if the cfindex, cfcollection, or standard file upload endpoints are exposed and accessible on the web server. Review the web.xml file in the ColdFusion WEB-INF directory for servlet mappings related to file operations.
    Affected if File upload endpoints are reachable without authentication on the network.
  3. Inspect web root for suspicious uploaded files
    Search web-accessible directories (wwwroot, htdocs, or the web root configured in ColdFusion) for recently created files with extensions such as .cfm, .jsp, .php, .asp, .exe, or .html that were not intentionally deployed.
    Affected if Unexpected or suspicious files exist in web directories, especially files containing web shell code or that were created by an unauthenticated user.
  4. Review ColdFusion logging for upload attempts
    Examine the coldfusion-out.log, application.log, and server.log files in the ColdFusion runtime/logs directory for patterns of file upload requests, particularly to unauthenticated or unexpected endpoints.
    Affected if Logs contain numerous or repeated file upload requests from unauthenticated external IP addresses.

A system is affected if it runs ColdFusion 11.0 before Update 3, 2016 before Update 10, or 2018 before Update 18 AND has accessible file upload functionality that could accept malicious files from 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 (Update 3 or later for older branches, Update 10 or later, Update 18 or later) to the affected installations. Until patched, disable or restrict file upload functionality at the web server or WAF level.

Recommended fix High confidence

ColdFusion 11 Update 3+; ColdFusion 2016 Update 10+; ColdFusion 2018 Update 18+

  1. Identify your current ColdFusion version and update level by checking the ColdFusion Administrator or the version.ini file
  2. For ColdFusion 11: Apply ColdFusion 11 Update 3 or later (which includes the security patch for this vulnerability)
  3. For ColdFusion 2016: Apply ColdFusion 2016 Update 10 or later
  4. For ColdFusion 2018: Apply ColdFusion 2018 Update 18 or later
  5. Download the appropriate update from the Adobe ColdFusion downloads page (helpx.adobe.com/coldfusion/downloads)
  6. Backup your ColdFusion instance and all applications before applying the update
  7. Stop the ColdFusion Application Server service
  8. Install the update following Adobe's documented installation procedure
Caveat Updates are cumulative and should not introduce breaking changes, but always test in a staging environment first

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

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-2019-7816 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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