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CVE-2026-48281 – RCE – Adobe ColdFusion 2025 Update 9 and earlier, 2023 Update 20 and earlier

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Summary

CVE-2026-48281 is a critical Improper Input Validation vulnerability in Adobe ColdFusion that allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution with no user interaction required. Affecting ColdFusion 2025 Update 9 and earlier, and ColdFusion 2023 Update 20 and earlier, the vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 10.0 — the highest possible rating. Adobe has released patches and recommends immediate action.

Technical details

  • Root cause: Improper input validation (CWE-20) in ColdFusion’s handling of attacker-supplied network input, allowing the injection of data that leads to code execution.
  • Trigger conditions: No authentication, no privileges, and no user interaction are required. Any remote attacker with network access to an affected ColdFusion server can attempt exploitation.
  • Attack vector: Network (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N).
  • Impact: Successful exploitation results in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current server process. The scope change (S:C) indicates that the impact can extend beyond the ColdFusion component itself to affect other resources on the system — enabling full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Affected software

  • Adobe ColdFusion 2025, Update 9 and earlier
  • Adobe ColdFusion 2023, Update 20 and earlier

Severity

  • CVSS v3.1 Base Score: 10.0 (Critical)
  • Vector String: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Mitigation and recommended actions

  • Immediate — apply vendor patches:
    • Adobe ColdFusion 2025: upgrade to Update 10 or later
    • Adobe ColdFusion 2023: upgrade to Update 21 or later
  • Update JDK/JRE to the latest LTS release, as recommended by Adobe alongside this patch.
  • Apply the security hardening configurations detailed in Adobe’s ColdFusion Security documentation and the applicable ColdFusion Lockdown Guides.
  • If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to ColdFusion servers and the ColdFusion Administrator interface to trusted IP ranges only as a temporary measure.

IONIX Status

The IONIX research team is tracking ongoing exploitation attempts and recommends immediate patching. Potentially affected assets are outlined in this post.

References

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