CVE-2023-38205
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 2018u18 (and earlier), 2021u8 (and earlier) and 2023u2 (and earlier) are affected by an Improper Access Control vulnerability that could result in a Security feature bypass. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to access the administration CFM and CFC endpoints. 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 2018u18 and earlier, 2021u8 and earlier, and 2023u2 and earlier contain an Improper Access Control vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass security restrictions and access administrative CFM and CFC endpoints directly. This enables potential unauthorized configuration changes, code execution, or further system compromise.
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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify ColdFusion versionAccess the ColdFusion Administrator login page (typically at /CFIDE/administrator/ or /cfadmin/) and check the version displayed on the login page or in the 'System Information' or 'Settings' section. Alternatively, check the version file in the installation directory if accessible.Affected if The installed version is ColdFusion 2018u18 or earlier, 2021u8 or earlier, or 2023u2 or earlier.
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Verify admin interface network exposureAttempt to access the ColdFusion Administrator URL from an unauthenticated, external network perspective or check the web server/firewall rules that control access to the /CFIDE/administrator/ or /cfadmin/ paths.Affected if The admin interface is reachable from untrusted networks without authentication requirements.
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Test direct admin endpoint accessSend an HTTP request directly to common admin CFC endpoints such as /CFIDE/adminapi/base.cfc, /CFIDE/admin.cfc, or other CFC files under the admin directories without providing credentials.Affected if The server returns administrative functionality or data without requiring authentication.
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Check for missing authentication enforcementReview the ColdFusion server configuration files (often in the cf_root/lib or cf_root/WEB-INF directory) or web server configuration for rules that should restrict admin paths but may be misconfigured or missing.Affected if Authentication is not enforced on the administration endpoints or security filters can be bypassed.
You are affected if your ColdFusion version falls within 2018u18 and earlier, 2021u8 and earlier, or 2023u2 and earlier AND the admin endpoints are accessible without authentication from your network.
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 the vendor-supplied patches (ColdFusion 2018u19+, 2021u9+, or 2023u3+) to remediate this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to administration interfaces via firewall rules or web server access controls.
ColdFusion 2018 Update 19+ | ColdFusion 2021 Update 9+ | ColdFusion 2023 Update 3+
- 1. Identify the exact ColdFusion version currently installed (2018, 2021, or 2023)
- 2. For ColdFusion 2018: Upgrade to Update 19 or later
- 3. For ColdFusion 2021: Upgrade to Update 9 or later
- 4. For ColdFusion 2023: Upgrade to Update 3 or later
- 5. Download the appropriate update from the Adobe ColdFusion downloads page (helpx.adobe.com)
- 6. Apply the update following Adobe's standard ColdFusion update installation procedure
- 7. Verify the update was successful by checking the ColdFusion administrator interface version info
- 8. Test that the administration endpoints now properly enforce access controls
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 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-2023-38205 — 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-2023-38205 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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