CVE-2020-3794
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 ColdFusion 2016, and ColdFusion 2018 have a file inclusion vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution of files located in the webroot or its subdirectory.
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 confidenceA file inclusion vulnerability in ColdFusion 2016 and 2018 allows attackers to include and execute arbitrary files located within the webroot or its subdirectories. This could enable remote code execution by including malicious files that the ColdFusion engine will process.
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= 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:3.1/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed ColdFusion versionCheck the ColdFusion Administrator interface (usually at /CFIDE/administrator/index.cfm) under 'Settings' or check the version.txt file in the ColdFusion installation directory. Alternatively, check the registry key or the install logs.Affected if The installed version is exactly ColdFusion 2016 or exactly ColdFusion 2018 (no patches applied)
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Verify file inclusion endpoint exposureCheck if .cfm endpoints that accept file path parameters are publicly accessible. Common vulnerable patterns include parameters named 'file', 'path', 'template', or 'page' in URL requests.Affected if File inclusion parameters are exposed without authentication or input validation
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Review webroot file permissionsExamine the file permissions on the webroot and its subdirectories to determine if an attacker could place malicious files that could then be included.Affected if The webroot has write permissions for untrusted users, allowing placement of malicious .cfm files
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Check for unpatched configuration filesReview the ColdFusion configuration files (neo-*.xml files in the lib directory) for any file inclusion or dynamic template settings that may have been disabled by the security patch.Affected if Configuration shows file inclusion features are enabled without security restrictions
The environment is affected if ColdFusion 2016 or 2018 is running with an unpatched installation and file inclusion endpoints are accessible to attackers.
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.
From vendor dataApply the vendor security patch for ColdFusion 2016 and 2018. Additionally, implement strict input validation on file path parameters and restrict file system permissions to limit what files can be accessed.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,160.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3794 — 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-2020-3794 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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- 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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