CVE-2025-30292: Adobe ColdFusion XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-30292 Overview

Adobe ColdFusion contains a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability affecting versions 2023.12, 2021.18, 2025.0, and earlier releases. An attacker who convinces a victim to visit a crafted URL referencing a vulnerable page can execute malicious JavaScript within the victim's browser context. The flaw is categorized under [CWE-79] and requires user interaction to succeed. Adobe published advisory APSB25-15 addressing this issue across supported ColdFusion release trains.

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation allows attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript in the victim's browser, enabling session token theft, credential harvesting, and unauthorized actions within the ColdFusion administrative or application interface.

Affected Products

Adobe ColdFusion 2021 through Update 18
Adobe ColdFusion 2023 through Update 12
Adobe ColdFusion 2025.0

Discovery Timeline

2025-04-08 - CVE CVE-2025-30292 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-30292

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a reflected XSS flaw in Adobe ColdFusion web application pages. ColdFusion fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before reflecting it back into HTTP responses. When a victim's browser loads a URL crafted with malicious JavaScript payloads, the server echoes that content into the response body. The browser then interprets and executes the injected script within the ColdFusion application's origin. Because the payload executes within the trusted origin, it can access cookies, local storage, and the DOM of the authenticated session.

Exploitation requires user interaction, typically achieved through phishing emails, malicious links embedded in trusted forums, or watering-hole redirects. The scope is changed, meaning the impact extends beyond the vulnerable component into the user's browser session. See the Adobe ColdFusion Security Advisory for the vendor's technical description.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of input during web page generation, classified as [CWE-79]. A vulnerable ColdFusion page accepts a parameter and includes its value in the rendered HTML output without applying context-appropriate output encoding. HTML special characters such as <, >, ", and ' are not escaped, allowing script tags and event handlers to be injected directly into the DOM.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires no authentication. An attacker crafts a URL pointing to a vulnerable ColdFusion endpoint with a query parameter or path segment containing JavaScript. The attacker then delivers the URL to a victim through phishing, chat, or embedded links. When the victim clicks the link while authenticated to the ColdFusion instance, the malicious script executes with the privileges of that session. Attackers commonly leverage this to exfiltrate session cookies, perform CSRF-style actions, or redirect users to credential-harvesting sites.

No public proof-of-concept exploit code has been observed at the time of this writing. However, the EPSS score for this CVE is elevated relative to typical medium-severity XSS issues, indicating higher-than-average probability of exploitation activity.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-30292

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP request logs containing URL parameters with encoded or literal <script>, javascript:, onerror=, or onload= payloads targeting ColdFusion endpoints.
Unusual referer headers from external domains preceding requests to ColdFusion administrative or application pages.
Outbound requests from user browsers to attacker-controlled domains immediately following ColdFusion page loads, suggesting data exfiltration.

Detection Strategies

Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules that inspect query strings and POST bodies for XSS signatures targeting ColdFusion pages under /CFIDE/ and application-specific paths.
Correlate web server access logs with browser telemetry to identify reflected payloads returning HTTP 200 responses containing script content.
Enable Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reporting to surface unexpected inline script execution on ColdFusion applications.

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor ColdFusion access logs for requests containing suspicious URL-encoded characters such as %3Cscript%3E, %22onerror, and %22%3E.
Track anomalous user session behavior including sudden cookie changes or unexpected privileged actions following external referrers.
Alert on outbound HTTP requests from client workstations to newly registered domains shortly after ColdFusion application activity.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-30292

Immediate Actions Required

Apply Adobe's security update from APSB25-15 to ColdFusion 2021, 2023, and 2025 installations without delay.
Restrict access to ColdFusion administrative interfaces to trusted management networks using firewall or reverse proxy rules.
Educate users with access to ColdFusion applications about phishing links and the risks of clicking untrusted URLs.

Patch Information

Adobe released fixed builds addressing CVE-2025-30292 in the APSB25-15 security bulletin. Administrators should upgrade to the latest ColdFusion 2025, 2023, and 2021 updates that supersede versions 2025.0, 2023.12, and 2021.18. Refer to the Adobe ColdFusion Security Advisory for exact patched build numbers and installation instructions.

Workarounds

Deploy a WAF with XSS filtering rules in front of ColdFusion instances to block reflected script payloads at the network edge.
Enforce a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts and restricts script sources to trusted origins.
Set HttpOnly and Secure flags on all ColdFusion session cookies to reduce the impact of session token theft via XSS.

bash

# Example WAF rule (ModSecurity) to block common XSS payloads on ColdFusion endpoints
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@rx (?i)(<script|javascript:|onerror=|onload=)" \
    "id:1030292,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'Potential XSS targeting ColdFusion (CVE-2025-30292)'"