dbcve.org
ColdfusionApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-40699

HIGH · 7.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2018 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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 version 2021 update 1 (and earlier) and versions 2018.10 (and earlier) are impacted by an improper access control vulnerability when checking permissions in the CFIDE path. An authenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to access and manipulate arbitrary data on the environment.

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 2021 update 1 and earlier, and 2018.10 and earlier contain an improper access control vulnerability in the CFIDE (ColdFusion Administrator) path. The permission checking mechanism fails to properly validate user privileges, allowing authenticated attackers to bypass restrictions and access or manipulate arbitrary data on the server.

MitigationApply the Adobe security patch for ColdFusion (specific to this CVE) and review CFIDE directory access controls to ensure proper permission enforcement after patching.

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:< 2018= 2018= 2021

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L

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
    Access the ColdFusion Administrator interface and navigate to the Settings or About page, or check the version.xml file in the cfusion/lib directory. Alternatively, query the server for the ColdFusion version banner.
    Affected if The installed version is ColdFusion 2021 update 1 or earlier, or ColdFusion 2018.10 or earlier, or any version matching 2018 or 2021 from the affected ranges.
  2. Locate the CFIDE directory
    Navigate to the ColdFusion installation root directory and confirm the presence of the CFIDE folder. This is the ColdFusion Administrator directory.
    Affected if The CFIDE directory exists in the ColdFusion installation root.
  3. Verify CFIDE accessibility via web
    Attempt to access the CFIDE/administrator path from a web browser using a non-privileged or unauthenticated request. For example: http://hostname:8500/CFIDE/administrator/ or the standard port used by your instance.
    Affected if The CFIDE/administrator path is accessible without proper authentication or returns a response indicating access is not properly restricted.
  4. Inspect CFIDE directory access controls
    Review the ColdFusion server configuration and web server settings (IIS, Apache, or built-in server) for permissions on the CFIDE directory. Check for URL access patterns and authentication requirements.
    Affected if The CFIDE path does not enforce proper privilege validation or allows unrestricted access to administrative functions.

A user is affected if their ColdFusion installation matches the vulnerable version range AND the CFIDE/administrator path is accessible without proper access control enforcement.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2018 or later
Fixed in 2018
Interim mitigation

Apply the Adobe security patch for ColdFusion (specific to this CVE) and review CFIDE directory access controls to ensure proper permission enforcement after patching.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

ColdFusion 2018 Update 11+ or ColdFusion 2021 Update 2+

  1. Check your current ColdFusion version by accessing the ColdFusion Administrator or running a version check script
  2. For ColdFusion 2018: Apply ColdFusion 2018 Update 11 or later via the ColdFusion Administrator > Updates section or download from Adobe's ColdFusion downloads page
  3. For ColdFusion 2021: Apply ColdFusion 2021 Update 2 or later via the ColdFusion Administrator > Updates section or download from Adobe's ColdFusion downloads page
  4. After applying the update, verify the CFIDE directory permissions are properly configured and restart the ColdFusion services
  5. Confirm the update was successful by checking the ColdFusion version again
Caveat Security updates typically do not introduce breaking changes but test in staging 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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,460
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,936.

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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-2021-40699 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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