dbcve.org
ColdfusionApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-44351

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2021 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
High EPSS Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Adobe ColdFusion versions 2023.5 (and earlier) and 2021.11 (and earlier) are affected by an 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 confidence

Adobe ColdFusion versions 2023.5 and earlier, and 2021.11 and earlier, contain a deserialization vulnerability where untrusted data is processed without proper validation, allowing attackers to inject malicious serialized objects that execute arbitrary code. This is a critical flaw in the application's data handling layer that can be exploited remotely without any user interaction.

MitigationImmediately upgrade ColdFusion to version 2023.6 or later (for the 2023 branch) and 2021.12 or later (for the 2021 branch). If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to ColdFusion endpoints and implement additional network monitoring for deserialization-based attack patterns.

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:< 2021= 2021= 2023

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine installed ColdFusion version
    Access the ColdFusion Administrator console (usually at /cfide/administrator/) and navigate to the System Information page, or check the version.txt file in the ColdFusion installation root directory
    Affected if The version displayed is 2021.11 or earlier, or 2023.5 or earlier, or any version below 2021.0 or 2023.0 that is still in use
  2. Verify ColdFusion edition and update level
    In ColdFusion Administrator, check the exact build number and update level under System Information > Product Version. Compare against the fixed versions: 2023.6 (or later) for the 2023 branch, and 2021.12 (or later) for the 2021 branch
    Affected if The build number is below 2021.12 for 2021 installations, or below 2023.6 for 2023 installations
  3. Check for exposed ColdFusion endpoints
    Review web server or load balancer configuration to determine which ColdFusion endpoints (such as CFC Remoting, REST services, or Flash Remoting) are accessible from the network. Inspect the cfusion/wwwroot/WEB-INF/web.xml file for enabled servlet mappings
    Affected if Deserialization-capable endpoints (CFC Remoting, Flex/AMF endpoints, or custom serialization handlers) are exposed to untrusted network traffic without additional authentication layers
  4. Inspect deserialization configuration
    Check the ColdFusion Administrator under Server Settings > Server Variables, and review the neo-*.xml files in the cfusion/lib directory for custom serialization settings. Examine any custom Java object deserialization handlers configured in the application
    Affected if Custom Java deserializers are enabled or configured to accept untrusted input without signature validation

You are affected if your installed ColdFusion version is 2021.11 or earlier, or 2023.5 or earlier, and the deserialization functionality (CFC Remoting, AMF/Flex endpoints, or custom object handlers) is accessible to untrusted network callers.

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 2021 or later
Fixed in 2021
Interim mitigation

Immediately upgrade ColdFusion to version 2023.6 or later (for the 2023 branch) and 2021.12 or later (for the 2021 branch). If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to ColdFusion endpoints and implement additional network monitoring for deserialization-based attack patterns.

Recommended fix High confidence

ColdFusion 2021 Update 12+ or ColdFusion 2023 Update 6+

  1. 1. Back up your ColdFusion installation, including the cfusion directory and all custom code.
  2. 2. Download ColdFusion 2021 Update 12 (or later) or ColdFusion 2023 Update 6 (or later) from the Adobe ColdFusion downloads page at helpx.adobe.com
  3. 3. Apply the update by running the installer on your ColdFusion server
  4. 4. After installation, restart the ColdFusion Application Server service
  5. 5. Verify the update was applied successfully by checking the ColdFusion Administrator > System Information
Caveat Standard update apply risk - test in staging environment first; ensure compatibility with existing custom code and integrations

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

Fix this in Coldfusion Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
42.0 hours of engineering $7,360
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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-2023-44351 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