dbcve.org
ColdfusionApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-28818

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2018 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 CF2021U3 (and earlier) and CF2018U13 are affected by a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability. If an attacker is able to convince a victim to visit a URL referencing a vulnerable page, malicious JavaScript content may be executed within the context of the victim's browser.

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

Reflected XSS vulnerability in ColdFusion CF2021 (U3 and earlier) and CF2018 (U13 and earlier) allows injection of malicious JavaScript via specially crafted URLs. When victims visit attacker-controlled URLs pointing to vulnerable ColdFusion pages, the malicious script executes within their browser context.

MitigationApply Adobe's official ColdFusion updates (CF2021 U4+ and CF2018 U14+) to patch this vulnerability, or implement input validation/sanitization on affected endpoints and configure WAF rules to block XSS payloads in URL parameters.

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

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

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
    Check the ColdFusion administrator console (typically at /CFIDE/administrator/index.cfm) or check the version file in the installation directory. You can also query the server for the version using the built-in application.cfc or server scope.
    Affected if The version shows ColdFusion 2018 (any update prior to U14) or ColdFusion 2021 (any update prior to U4)
  2. Confirm the ColdFusion update level
    In ColdFusion Administrator, navigate to the Settings or Updates section to view the currently installed update. Alternatively, check the file {coldfusion_home}/lib/updates/update.properties or similar update manifest files.
    Affected if The installed update is U13 or earlier for CF2018, or U3 or earlier for CF2021
  3. Identify publicly accessible ColdFusion endpoints
    Review your web server configuration (IIS, Apache) and ColdFusion mapping settings to determine which CFML pages are exposed to the internet. Use web vulnerability scanners or manually audit exposed .cfm URLs.
    Affected if ColdFusion pages that read URL parameters are accessible from external networks without authentication
  4. Check for input validation on URL parameter handlers
    Audit the ColdFusion application code, particularly files that process URL parameters (URL.foo), for the presence of output encoding functions such as encodeForHTML(), htmlEditFormat(), or other sanitization methods.
    Affected if URL parameters are processed and reflected in output without proper encoding or validation

You are affected if your ColdFusion installation is version 2018 with Update 13 or earlier, or version 2021 with Update 3 or earlier, and you have publicly accessible pages that handle URL parameters without proper input sanitization.

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 Adobe's official ColdFusion updates (CF2021 U4+ and CF2018 U14+) to patch this vulnerability, or implement input validation/sanitization on affected endpoints and configure WAF rules to block XSS payloads in URL parameters.

Recommended fix High confidence

ColdFusion 2018 Update 14 or later; ColdFusion 2021 Update 4 or later

  1. 1. Identify your current ColdFusion version by checking the ColdFusion Administrator or the version number in the install directory
  2. 2. For ColdFusion 2018 users: Download and install ColdFusion 2018 Update 14 (or later) from the Adobe ColdFusion downloads page
  3. 3. For ColdFusion 2021 users: Download and install ColdFusion 2021 Update 4 (or later) from the Adobe ColdFusion downloads page
  4. 4. Apply the update during a planned maintenance window following Adobe's standard update installation procedure
  5. 5. After installation, clear browser caches and test that the application functions normally
  6. 6. Verify the XSS vulnerability is remediated by confirming the vulnerable URL parameter no longer executes arbitrary JavaScript
Caveat Standard minor update - no major breaking changes expected, but test in staging 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
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2022-28818 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