Overview
In this blog post, we’ll be discussing an important vulnerability that affects ColdFusion versions 2025.1, 2023.13, 2021.19 and earlier. Identified as CVE-2025-43559, this vulnerability is an Improper Input Validation that could lead to arbitrary code execution, potentially compromising entire systems and leading to data leakage. This vulnerability is highly critical as it can be exploited without user interaction, and can even bypass security mechanisms when exploited by a high-privileged attacker.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-43559
Severity: Critical (CVSS: 9.1)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise, potential data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
ColdFusion | 2025.1
ColdFusion | 2023.13
ColdFusion | 2021.19 and earlier versions
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability is an Improper Input Validation flaw. This means that the software does not properly validate or sanitize user-supplied input. This vulnerability could allow an attacker to send malicious input to the system, leading to arbitrary code execution. If the attacker has high privileges, they can leverage this vulnerability to bypass security mechanisms, potentially compromising the entire system or exposing sensitive data.
Conceptual Example Code
Here’s a conceptual example of how this exploit might work. The attacker sends a specially crafted HTTP request to the vulnerable endpoint, including a malicious payload in the request.
POST /vulnerable/endpoint HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{ "malicious_payload": "code_to_execute" }This malicious payload gets processed by the server without proper validation, leading to arbitrary code execution.
Mitigation Guidance
To mitigate this vulnerability, organizations are advised to apply the latest patches provided by the vendor. In case the patches cannot be applied immediately, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can serve as a temporary mitigation, helping to detect and block attempts to exploit this vulnerability. Regularly updating and patching systems, as well as enforcing strict privilege management, can also help to prevent successful exploitation of this and similar vulnerabilities.