CVE-2023-26359
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2023-26359 is a critical deserialization vulnerability in Adobe ColdFusion that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code without user interaction. This affects ColdFusion 2018 Update 15 and earlier, and 2021 Update 5 and earlier. Successful exploitation gives attackers the same privileges as the current user running ColdFusion.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe ColdFusion
📦 What is this software?
Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →Coldfusion by Adobe
Adobe ColdFusion is a commercial rapid web application development platform and server providing a Java-based runtime environment for building dynamic websites, web applications, REST APIs, and enterprise integrations. Deployed across government agencies, financial services, healthcare organizations...
Learn more about Coldfusion →⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with remote code execution leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or persistent backdoor installation.
Likely Case
Attackers gain initial foothold on the server, then pivot to internal networks or deploy malware for further exploitation.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper network segmentation and least privilege, but still potential for application-level compromise.
🎯 Exploit Status
CISA has added this to Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; exploit code is publicly available and requires minimal technical skill.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: ColdFusion 2018 Update 16, ColdFusion 2021 Update 6
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb23-25.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download appropriate update from Adobe ColdFusion downloads page. 2. Backup current installation. 3. Apply update using ColdFusion installer. 4. Restart ColdFusion services.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Access Restriction
allRestrict network access to ColdFusion administration and application ports to trusted IPs only.
Use firewall rules to limit access to ColdFusion ports (typically 8500, 8501, 80, 443)
Disable Unnecessary Features
allDisable ColdFusion features not required for business operations to reduce attack surface.
Review and disable unnecessary ColdFusion services and components in ColdFusion Administrator
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate ColdFusion servers in separate network segments with strict firewall rules
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) with rules to detect and block deserialization attacks
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check ColdFusion version in ColdFusion Administrator under 'System Information' or via cfusion/lib/version.txt file.Check Version:
On Windows: type "C:\ColdFusion\cfusion\lib\version.txt" | On Linux: cat /opt/coldfusion/cfusion/lib/version.txtVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version shows 2018 Update 16 or higher, or 2021 Update 6 or higher after patching.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual Java deserialization errors in ColdFusion logs
- Suspicious requests to ColdFusion endpoints with serialized data
- Unexpected process creation from ColdFusion service account
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing serialized Java objects to ColdFusion ports
- Outbound connections from ColdFusion server to unknown external IPs
SIEM Query:
source="coldfusion.log" AND ("deserialization" OR "java.io" OR "ObjectInputStream")