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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 5 Apr 2023.
ColdfusionApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-26360

HIGH · 8.6 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-23
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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
Adobe ColdFusion versions 2018 Update 15 (and earlier) and 2021 Update 5 (and earlier) are affected by an Improper Access Control vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.

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

Adobe ColdFusion versions 2018 Update 15 and earlier, and 2021 Update 5 and earlier contain an Improper Access Control vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user without any user interaction.

MitigationUpgrade Adobe ColdFusion 2018 to Update 16 or later, and ColdFusion 2021 to Update 6 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

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= 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
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/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 ColdFusion installation and version
    Locate the ColdFusion installation directory and check the version file or administrator interface for the exact product version (2018 or 2021) and update number applied
    Affected if The installed version is ColdFusion 2018 Update 15 or earlier, or ColdFusion 2021 Update 5 or earlier
  2. Confirm the update level
    Verify the specific update number applied to your ColdFusion installation through the ColdFusion Administrator console, the installer logs, or the version manifest file
    Affected if The update number cannot be determined to be Update 16 or later for 2018, or Update 6 or later for 2021
  3. Check for unauthorized access or code execution indicators
    Review web server and ColdFusion logs for suspicious unauthenticated requests, especially those attempting to access the ColdFusion Administrator endpoints or executing arbitrary commands
    Affected if Unusual or unauthorized requests are present in logs, particularly from external IP addresses to administrative interfaces
  4. Verify access control configuration
    Inspect the ColdFusion Administrator security settings and any custom web server configurations to confirm that administrative endpoints are not exposed to unauthenticated or untrusted network access
    Affected if Administrative interfaces are accessible without authentication from untrusted networks

A user is affected if their ColdFusion 2018 installation is at Update 15 or earlier, or their ColdFusion 2021 installation is at Update 5 or earlier, as these versions contain the improper access control flaw allowing unauthenticated remote code execution.

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch helpx.adobe.com →
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Adobe ColdFusion 2018 to Update 16 or later, and ColdFusion 2021 to Update 6 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

ColdFusion 2018 Update 16 or later; ColdFusion 2021 Update 6 or later

  1. Check current ColdFusion version via the ColdFusion Administrator console or by reviewing the version.txt file in the installation directory
  2. For ColdFusion 2018: Download and install ColdFusion 2018 Update 16 from the Adobe website (helpx.adobe.com)
  3. For ColdFusion 2021: Download and install ColdFusion 2021 Update 6 from the Adobe website (helpx.adobe.com)
  4. Apply the update using the ColdFusion updater installer, following Adobe's installation instructions
  5. After installation, verify the version has been updated by checking the ColdFusion Administrator or version.txt file
  6. Restart the ColdFusion application server services (ColdFusion Application Service) to ensure all components are loaded with the patched version
  7. Confirm the security patch is applied by reviewing the installed updates in the ColdFusion Administrator
Caveat ColdFusion updates typically maintain backward compatibility, but test in a non-production environment before deploying to production

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

Fix this in Coldfusion Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $2,960
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,736.

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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-2023-26360 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