Overview
ColdFusion, a prominent web application development platform, is currently facing a severe security threat. The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2025-43560, exposes all ColdFusion versions 2025.1, 2023.13, 2021.19, and earlier to potential attacks. This security flaw could enable high-privileged attackers to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user, bypassing security mechanisms. This could potentially lead to system compromise or data leakage, posing a significant risk to all enterprises utilizing these versions of ColdFusion.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-43560
Severity: Critical (9.1 CVSS score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
Escape the Surveillance Era
Most apps won’t tell you the truth.
They’re part of the problem.
Phone numbers. Emails. Profiles. Logs.
It’s all fuel for surveillance.
Ameeba Chat gives you a way out.
- • No phone number
- • No email
- • No personal info
- • Anonymous aliases
- • End-to-end encrypted
Chat without a trace.
Product | Affected Versions
ColdFusion | 2025.1
ColdFusion | 2023.13
ColdFusion | 2021.19 and earlier
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability in ColdFusion arises from an Improper Input Validation weakness. This flaw allows an attacker to send specially crafted data to the application. When this data is processed by the application, it results in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. This means an attacker could potentially execute any command or code they wish, bypassing existing security measures. Since the exploit does not require user interaction, it makes the vulnerability even more dangerous as it can be exploited remotely and without the victim’s knowledge.
Conceptual Example Code
Below is a hypothetical example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This is a conceptual representation and does not represent actual exploit code.
POST /vulnerable/endpoint HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{
"payload": "'; DROP TABLE users;--"
}In this example, the attacker sends a malicious payload that includes arbitrary SQL commands. When processed by the vulnerable ColdFusion application, it could potentially result in execution of the malicious command, leading to significant data loss or compromise.
Mitigation Guidance
In response to this vulnerability, it’s strongly advised to apply the vendor patch as soon as possible. If immediate patching is not possible, the use of Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) or Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) can serve as temporary mitigation measures, helping to detect and block attempts to exploit this vulnerability. However, these should be considered as interim solutions, with priority given to applying the vendor’s patch to effectively address the vulnerability.