CVE-2025-61809

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2025-61809?

CVE-2025-61809 has a CVSS score of 9.1 (CRITICAL). This CVE describes an Improper Input Validation vulnerability in Adobe ColdFusion that allows attackers to bypass security measures and gain unauthorized read/write access. Affected systems include ColdFusion versions 2025.4, 2023.16, 2021.22 and earlier. Exploitation requires no user interaction and can be performed remotely.

9.1 CRITICAL

Authentication Bypass

📋 TL;DR

This CVE describes an Improper Input Validation vulnerability in Adobe ColdFusion that allows attackers to bypass security measures and gain unauthorized read/write access. Affected systems include ColdFusion versions 2025.4, 2023.16, 2021.22 and earlier. Exploitation requires no user interaction and can be performed remotely.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Adobe ColdFusion

Versions: 2025.4 and earlier, 2023.16 and earlier, 2021.22 and earlier

Operating Systems: All supported platforms

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: All ColdFusion installations within affected version ranges are vulnerable regardless of configuration.

📦 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 →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete system compromise allowing attackers to read sensitive data, modify configurations, deploy malware, or establish persistent access to affected ColdFusion servers.

🟠

Likely Case

Unauthorized access to ColdFusion application data and files, potentially leading to data theft, privilege escalation, or lateral movement within the network.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact with proper network segmentation, strict access controls, and monitoring in place, though vulnerability still presents significant risk.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: HIGH

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: LOW

The vulnerability allows security feature bypass without authentication, making exploitation straightforward once details are known.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Update to ColdFusion 2025.5, 2023.17, or 2021.23

Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb25-105.html

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Download the appropriate update from Adobe's ColdFusion downloads page. 2. Backup your ColdFusion installation and configuration. 3. Apply the update following Adobe's installation instructions. 4. Restart the ColdFusion service.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Network Access Restriction

all

Restrict network access to ColdFusion servers to only trusted IP addresses and networks

Web Application Firewall Rules

all

Implement WAF rules to block suspicious input patterns targeting ColdFusion endpoints

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Isolate ColdFusion servers in a restricted network segment with minimal external access
Implement strict monitoring and alerting for unusual ColdFusion process activity or file modifications

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check ColdFusion version via ColdFusion Administrator interface or cfusion/lib/version.txt file

Check Version:

On Windows: type "C:\ColdFusion\cfusion\lib\version.txt" || On Linux: cat /opt/coldfusion/cfusion/lib/version.txt

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify version is updated to 2025.5, 2023.17, or 2021.23 and check that security bypass attempts are blocked

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual authentication bypass attempts in ColdFusion logs
Unexpected file read/write operations
Suspicious input patterns in request logs

Network Indicators:

Unusual traffic patterns to ColdFusion administrative endpoints
Multiple failed security validation attempts followed by successful access

SIEM Query:

source="coldfusion.log" AND ("security bypass" OR "input validation failure" OR "unauthorized access attempt")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2025-61809

CVSS v3 Score: 9.1 (CRITICAL)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

CWE: CWE-20

EPSS Score: 0.84% exploit probability (74.3th percentile)

Published: December 10, 2025

Last Updated: December 12, 2025

🔗 References

https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb25-105.html Vendor Advisory

📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

📦 What is this software?

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

Coldfusion by Adobe

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

Worst Case

Likely Case

If Mitigated

🎯 Exploit Status

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Instructions:

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Network Access Restriction

Web Application Firewall Rules

🧯 If You Can't Patch

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Version:

Verify Fix Applied:

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Network Indicators:

SIEM Query:

📊 Metadata

🔗 References

📤 Share & Export

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