dbcve.org
ColdfusionApplication · Adobe

CVE-2025-49535

CRITICAL · 9.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
98/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
ColdFusion versions 2025.2, 2023.14, 2021.20 and earlier are affected by an Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference ('XXE') vulnerability that could result in a Security feature bypass. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to access sensitive information or denial of service by bypassing security measures. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction and scope is changed. The vulnerable component is restricted to internal IP addresses.

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

ColdFusion versions 2025.2, 2023.14, 2021.20 and earlier contain an XXE (XML External Entity) vulnerability where XML parsers improperly process external entity references. This allows attackers to read internal files, cause denial of service, or perform SSRF attacks by bypassing security measures, with scope changed meaning impact extends beyond the vulnerable component. The component is bound to internal IPs only, reducing but not eliminating attack surface.

MitigationApply Adobe's ColdFusion security patches for versions 2025.2, 2023.14, and 2021.20 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, disable external entity resolution in XML parsers and restrict XML input sources.

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= 2023= 2025

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/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. Identify ColdFusion version
    Log into the ColdFusion Administrator console (typically at /cfide/administrator/) and view the 'Server Settings' > 'About ColdFusion' page, or check the installer log files in the ColdFusion installation directory for the version number.
    Affected if The installed version is 2021.x (any version), 2023.x (any version), 2025.x (any version), or earlier than the patched versions.
  2. Locate ColdFusion installation directory
    Check common installation paths: on Windows typically C:\ColdFusion2021, C:\ColdFusion2023, or C:\ColdFusion2025; on Linux/Unix typically /opt/coldfusion2021, /opt/coldfusion2023, or /opt/coldfusion2025. Check the 'lib' folder for the version.properties or 'cf_root' directory for installer records.
    Affected if The ColdFusion installation directory contains versions 2021, 2023, or 2025 (any patch level) without the security patches applied.
  3. Verify network binding of ColdFusion services
    Check the server.xml or jrun.xml configuration files in the ColdFusion 'cfusion' or 'runtime' directory for connector bindings. Look for 'bindAddress' or 'address' attributes to determine if services listen only on internal IPs (127.0.0.1 or internal network ranges) versus all interfaces (0.0.0.0).
    Affected if ColdFusion is bound to 0.0.0.0 or accessible externally rather than only internal IPs, increasing exposure.
  4. Identify XML parsing usage in applications
    Search application source code for ColdFusion XML tags and functions: cfxml, XMLParse(), XMLTransform(), XmlSearch(), and similar. Check if any custom code or third-party components process XML input from users or external sources.
    Affected if Applications running on this ColdFusion instance process XML input from untrusted sources using built-in XML parsing functions.

A user is affected if their ColdFusion installation version is 2021, 2023, or 2025 (any version) and the instance processes XML input while being network-accessible beyond internal IPs.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Adobe's ColdFusion security patches for versions 2025.2, 2023.14, and 2021.20 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, disable external entity resolution in XML parsers and restrict XML input sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

ColdFusion 2021.21+ (or latest 2021.x), ColdFusion 2023.15+ (or latest 2023.x), ColdFusion 2025.3+ (or latest 2025.x)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed ColdFusion version by checking the ColdFusion Administrator console or the version number in the installation directory
  2. 2. For ColdFusion 2021: Upgrade to version 2021.21 or later (the first version containing the security fix)
  3. 3. For ColdFusion 2023: Upgrade to version 2023.15 or later (the first version containing the security fix)
  4. 4. For ColdFusion 2025: Upgrade to version 2025.3 or later (the first version containing the security fix)
  5. 5. Download the appropriate update from the Adobe ColdFusion downloads page (helpx.adobe.com) or use the ColdFusion Administrator's auto-update feature
  6. 6. Before applying the update, create a complete backup of the ColdFusion instance including the installation directory and any custom configurations
  7. 7. Apply the update following Adobe's standard patch installation procedure
  8. 8. After installation, verify the update was successful by checking the ColdFusion version in the Administrator console
Caveat Standard ColdFusion patch updates typically do not introduce breaking changes but regression testing of custom applications is recommended

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

Fix this in Coldfusion Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2025-49535 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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