CVE-2023-29300
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 · uneditedAdobe ColdFusion versions 2018u16 (and earlier), 2021u6 (and earlier) and 2023.0.0.330468 (and earlier) are affected by a Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability that could result in Arbitrary code execution. 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 confidenceAdobe ColdFusion versions 2018 through 2023 contain a deserialization vulnerability (CWE-502) that allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted serialized data objects. No user interaction is required for exploitation.
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= 2018= 2021= 2023CVSS 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 versionAccess the ColdFusion Administrator console (typically at /cfide/administrator/ or /CFIDE/administrator/) and check the version displayed on the login page or in the 'System Information' or 'Settings' section. Alternatively, check the 'version.properties' or 'product.xml' file in the ColdFusion installation directory if accessible.Affected if The version is 2018u16 or earlier, 2021u6 or earlier, or 2023.0.0.330468 or earlier.
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Confirm authentication to admin interface is possibleAttempt to access the ColdFusion Administrator login page over the network. If the page loads and accepts authentication credentials, the administrative interface is network-accessible.Affected if The admin interface is accessible without additional network segmentation or authentication barriers.
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Check for exposed administrator endpointsScan for publicly accessible URLs such as /cfide/administrator/, /CFIDE/administrator/, or the WebSocket administrator endpoints used by ColdFusion Administrator.Affected if Administrative endpoints are reachable from untrusted networks or the internet.
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Verify if deserialization endpoints are enabledReview the ColdFusion server configuration for enabled serializers and the 'cfobject' or 'deserialize' functionality. Check if remote ColdFusion endpoints that handle serialized data are exposed.Affected if Deserialization functions or object instantiation endpoints are accessible without additional validation.
A user is affected if their ColdFusion installation version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND the administrative interface or deserialization endpoints are network-accessible to authenticated 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 vendor-supplied patches: upgrade to ColdFusion 2018u17, 2021u7, or 2023.0.0.330469 or later. Until patched, restrict network exposure to ColdFusion endpoints and consider WAF rules for deserialization payloads.
Adobe ColdFusion 2018 Update 17 or later; ColdFusion 2021 Update 7 or later; ColdFusion 2023 update newer than 0.0.330468 (latest available)
- 1. Identify the currently installed ColdFusion version and update channel (2018, 2021, or 2023)
- 2. Back up all ColdFusion configuration files, deployed applications, and databases before proceeding
- 3. Download the latest ColdFusion update from Adobe's official download page at helpx.adobe.com
- 4. Apply the update using the ColdFusion installer or the appropriate patching method for your deployment
- 5. Restart the ColdFusion application server services after the update completes
- 6. Verify the update was successful by checking the ColdFusion administrator console and confirming the new version number
- 7. Test critical applications to ensure functionality is maintained after the upgrade
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-29300 — 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-2023-29300 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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