CVE-2019-7840
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 · uneditedColdFusion versions Update 3 and earlier, Update 10 and earlier, and Update 18 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 confidenceColdFusion versions prior to Update 4 (version 9), Update 11 (version 10), and Update 19 (version 11) contain a deserialization vulnerability where untrusted data is insecurely processed. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this to execute arbitrary code on the affected server.
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= 11.0= 2016= 2018CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify ColdFusion installed versionAccess the ColdFusion Administrator console at /CFIDE/administrator/ or check the version.xml file in the ColdFusion installation directory (typically in lib or config folder). On Windows, you can also check the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\ColdFusion\Install or CurrentVersion.Affected if The version shows 9.x, 10.x, or 11.x without the corresponding security update applied.
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Check ColdFusion 9 update levelIf running ColdFusion 9, verify the installed update level by reviewing the hotfix log files in the cfusion/hotfixes directory or by viewing the Update section in the ColdFusion Administrator. Look for Update 4 or higher.Affected if ColdFusion 9 is installed with Update 3 or earlier.
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Check ColdFusion 10 update levelIf running ColdFusion 10, verify the installed update level by reviewing the hotfix logs in the cfusion/hotfixes directory or by viewing the Update section in the ColdFusion Administrator. Look for Update 11 or higher.Affected if ColdFusion 10 is installed with Update 10 or earlier.
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Check ColdFusion 11 update levelIf running ColdFusion 11, verify the installed update level by reviewing the hotfix logs in the cfusion/hotfixes directory or by viewing the Update section in the ColdFusion Administrator. Look for Update 19 or higher.Affected if ColdFusion 11 is installed with Update 18 or earlier.
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Confirm deserialization endpoint exposureThe vulnerability affects the Flex integration service endpoint. Verify if CFIDE/services/ or Flex remoting endpoints are exposed to unauthenticated users. Check the server's web.xml configuration file for mapped servlets.Affected if Flex remoting or Data Services endpoints are accessible without authentication on unpatched versions.
A server is affected if it runs ColdFusion 9 Update 3 or earlier, ColdFusion 10 Update 10 or earlier, or ColdFusion 11 Update 18 or earlier, and has Flex remoting/Data Services endpoints exposed to unauthenticated users.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply the appropriate ColdFusion security update (Update 4+ for ColdFusion 9, Update 11+ for ColdFusion 10, Update 19+ for ColdFusion 11) or migrate to a currently supported ColdFusion version.
Upgrade to the latest available ColdFusion update for your version: ColdFusion 11 Update 21, ColdFusion 2016 Update 16, or ColdFusion 2018 Update 21 (or at minimum the specific update that addresses this CVE: Update 4 for 11, Update 11 for 2016, Update 19 for 2018)
- Identify your current ColdFusion version and update level by checking the ColdFusion Administrator or the version info in the administrator console
- For ColdFusion 11: Upgrade to Update 4 or later (recommended: latest Update 21)
- For ColdFusion 2016: Upgrade to Update 11 or later (recommended: latest Update 16)
- For ColdFusion 2018: Upgrade to Update 19 or later (recommended: latest Update 21)
- Download the appropriate update from Adobe's official support portal at helpx.adobe.com/coldfusion/kb/coldfusion-11-update-4.html (or respective update page)
- Before applying the update, perform a full backup of the ColdFusion instance including the lib directory, web root, and configuration files
- Stop the ColdFusion service before applying the update
- Run the installer for the downloaded update and follow the installation prompts
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-7840 — 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-2019-7840 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
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