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ColdfusionApplication · Adobe

CVE-2019-7838

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-06-12
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
ColdFusion versions Update 3 and earlier, Update 10 and earlier, and Update 18 and earlier have a file extension blacklist 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 · moderate confidence

ColdFusion versions prior to specific updates contain a file extension blacklist bypass vulnerability that allows attackers to circumvent security controls designed to block execution of certain file types. This enables remote attackers to potentially upload or execute malicious files, leading to arbitrary code execution on the affected server.

MitigationApply the appropriate ColdFusion updates (Update 4 and later for older tracks, Update 11 and later for newer tracks, Update 19 and later for the latest track) to remediate the blacklist bypass. Consider implementing whitelist-based file upload validation as a defense-in-depth measure.

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 ColdFusion version
    Access the ColdFusion Administrator console (usually at /CFIDE/administrator/index.cfm) and check the version displayed on the welcome page or in Server Settings > ColdFusion Updates. Alternatively, create a simple CFML script with 'writeOutput(server.coldfusion.productversion)#' to query the version programmatically.
    Affected if The version displayed is 11.0 (any update before Update 4), 2016 (any update before Update 11), or 2018 (any update before Update 19)
  2. Locate file upload handlers
    Search the deployed web application for file upload functionality. Look for CFML tags such as cffile action='upload', <input type='file'>, or Java-based upload handlers in the application's source code and configuration files.
    Affected if File upload functionality exists that processes user-submitted files on the server
  3. Examine blacklist configuration
    Review the application's file upload validation logic. Look for code that defines a list of forbidden file extensions (the blacklist) and check how file type validation is performed before allowing uploads.
    Affected if The application uses a blacklist approach to restrict file extensions rather than a whitelist approach
  4. Verify blacklist coverage
    Inspect the list of blocked file extensions in the upload validation code. Determine if the blacklist includes common executable extensions such as .cfm, .cfml, .cfc, .jsp, .asp, .php, .exe, .phtml, or if it only covers a limited subset of extensions.
    Affected if The blacklist contains a finite list of extensions that could potentially be bypassed with alternate extensions or case variations

You are affected if your ColdFusion version predates the mentioned updates AND your application uses file upload functionality with a blacklist-based extension filter that could be circumvented.

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 updates (Update 4 and later for older tracks, Update 11 and later for newer tracks, Update 19 and later for the latest track) to remediate the blacklist bypass. Consider implementing whitelist-based file upload validation as a defense-in-depth measure.

Recommended fix High confidence

ColdFusion 11 Update 14+, ColdFusion 2016 Update 11+, or ColdFusion 2018 Update 6+

  1. 1. Identify your current ColdFusion version and update level by accessing the ColdFusion Administrator console or checking the version.txt file in the ColdFusion installation directory.
  2. 2. For ColdFusion 11: Apply Update 14 or later (which includes the security fix for CVE-2019-7838).
  3. 3. For ColdFusion 2016: Apply Update 11 or later (which includes the security fix for CVE-2019-7838).
  4. 4. For ColdFusion 2018: Apply Update 6 or later (which includes the security fix for CVE-2019-7838).
  5. 5. Download the appropriate update package from the Adobe ColdFusion downloads page (helpx.adobe.com).
  6. 6. Stop the ColdFusion application server before applying the update.
  7. 7. Run the update installer with administrator privileges.
  8. 8. After installation, restart the ColdFusion server.
Caveat Standard ColdFusion updates typically have minimal breaking changes; however, test thoroughly in a staging environment before production deployment

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

Fix this in Coldfusion Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
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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-2019-7838 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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