CVE-2023-29298: Adobe ColdFusion Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2023-29298 Overview

CVE-2023-29298 is an Improper Access Control vulnerability affecting Adobe ColdFusion that allows attackers to bypass security features and gain unauthorized access to administration CFM and CFC endpoints. This vulnerability is particularly concerning because exploitation does not require user interaction, making it an attractive target for automated attacks against internet-facing ColdFusion installations.

Critical Impact

This vulnerability has been added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, indicating active exploitation in the wild. Attackers can leverage this flaw to bypass authentication and access sensitive administrative functionality without user interaction.

Affected Products

• Adobe ColdFusion 2018 Update 16 and earlier
• Adobe ColdFusion 2021 Update 6 and earlier
• Adobe ColdFusion 2023.0.0.330468 and earlier

Discovery Timeline

• July 12, 2023 - CVE-2023-29298 published to NVD
• October 23, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2023-29298

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from improper access control mechanisms within Adobe ColdFusion's authentication layer. The flaw allows remote attackers to access protected administration endpoints (CFM and CFC files) that should normally require authentication. The network-based attack vector combined with no prerequisites for exploitation makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous for organizations running ColdFusion in internet-facing configurations.

The vulnerability's inclusion in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog confirms that threat actors have weaponized this flaw in real-world attacks. Organizations should treat this as an immediate priority, especially given the high EPSS probability score indicating significant likelihood of exploitation.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2023-29298 lies in improper validation of access control checks within Adobe ColdFusion's administrative interface handling. The application fails to properly enforce authentication requirements before granting access to sensitive administrative CFM (ColdFusion Markup) and CFC (ColdFusion Component) endpoints. This allows attackers to craft requests that circumvent the intended security controls.

Attack Vector

The attack is conducted over the network and requires no authentication or user interaction. An attacker can directly target vulnerable ColdFusion instances by sending specially crafted HTTP requests to administrative endpoints. The vulnerability allows bypassing the authentication mechanism protecting these endpoints, granting unauthorized access to administrative functionality.

Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can access administrative endpoints that expose sensitive configuration data, potentially leading to further compromise of the ColdFusion server or the underlying infrastructure. This vulnerability has been observed being chained with other ColdFusion vulnerabilities to achieve more severe impact.

Detection Methods for CVE-2023-29298

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual HTTP requests targeting /CFIDE/administrator/ or similar administrative paths from external IP addresses
• Access log entries showing successful requests to CFC or CFM endpoints without proper authentication
• Unexpected access to ColdFusion administrative endpoints from previously unknown IP addresses
• Evidence of path manipulation attempts in web server access logs targeting admin directories

Detection Strategies

• Monitor web application logs for access attempts to /CFIDE/administrator/ and related administrative endpoints
• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious requests targeting ColdFusion admin paths
• Review authentication logs for anomalies or authentication bypass attempts
• Deploy network intrusion detection signatures targeting CVE-2023-29298 exploitation patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed access logging for all ColdFusion administrative endpoints
• Configure alerting for any access to administrative paths from external or unexpected IP ranges
• Monitor for reconnaissance activity targeting ColdFusion version identification endpoints
• Implement real-time correlation of authentication events with administrative access attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2023-29298

Immediate Actions Required

• Apply the latest Adobe ColdFusion security updates as detailed in Adobe Security Bulletin APSB23-40
• Restrict network access to ColdFusion administrative endpoints to trusted IP addresses only
• Review access logs for evidence of prior exploitation attempts
• Verify that ColdFusion administrative interfaces are not exposed to the public internet

Patch Information

Adobe has released security updates addressing this vulnerability. Organizations should immediately update to the following versions or later:

• ColdFusion 2018: Update 17 or later
• ColdFusion 2021: Update 7 or later
• ColdFusion 2023: Update 1 or later

For complete patch details and download information, refer to the Adobe ColdFusion Security Advisory.

Workarounds

• Implement network-level access controls to restrict access to the /CFIDE/administrator/ directory and other administrative paths
• Configure web application firewall rules to block unauthorized access attempts to administrative endpoints
• Consider disabling external access to ColdFusion administrative interfaces entirely if remote administration is not required

# Example Apache configuration to restrict CFIDE access
<Location /CFIDE/administrator>
    Order deny,allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 10.0.0.0/8
    Allow from 192.168.0.0/16
</Location>