Overview
Hard-coded credentials, an all too common security oversight, have once again come into the limelight with the recent discovery of CVE-2025-49551. This vulnerability affects multiple versions of Adobe’s ColdFusion application development platform, and could allow attackers to escalate their privileges on the affected systems. This vulnerability is significant due to the potential for unauthorized access to sensitive systems or data, which may result in system compromise or data leakage.
The affected versions of ColdFusion are widely used in the development of web applications, and an unpatched vulnerability of this nature can have far-reaching implications. This risk is amplified by the fact that the exploitation of this vulnerability doesn’t require user interaction, enabling a wider range of attack scenarios.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-49551
Severity: High (8.8 CVSS score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Unauthorized access to systems and potential data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
ColdFusion | 2025.2
ColdFusion | 2023.14
ColdFusion | 2021.20 and earlier versions
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability stems from the use of hard-coded credentials within the affected versions of ColdFusion. This allows an attacker to leverage these credentials to bypass security measures, resulting in unauthorized access. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects a component that is restricted to internal IP addresses, opening the door to potential insider threats or attackers who have already gained a foothold in the network.
Conceptual Example Code
A conceptual example of exploiting this vulnerability might look something like the following pseudocode:
GET /internal/component HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Authorization: Basic [Insert Base64 encoded hardcoded credentials]In the above pseudocode, the attacker has knowledge of the hardcoded credentials, which are base64 encoded and included in the HTTP request to the internal component. This allows the attacker to gain unauthorized access to the system without needing user interaction.
Mitigation Guidance
The best course of action to mitigate this vulnerability is to apply the vendor-provided patch as soon as possible. In situations where immediate patching is not feasible, it’s recommended to use a web application firewall (WAF) or intrusion detection system (IDS) as a temporary measure. However, these should not be considered long-term solutions, as they may not fully protect the system from compromise.