CVE-2025-43564: Adobe ColdFusion Information Disclosure

CVE-2025-43564 Overview

CVE-2025-43564 is an Improper Access Control vulnerability affecting Adobe ColdFusion versions 2025.1, 2023.13, 2021.19 and earlier. This critical security flaw enables arbitrary file system read operations, allowing a high-privileged attacker to access or modify sensitive data without proper authorization. The vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring user interaction, and notably has a changed scope, meaning the impact extends beyond the vulnerable component itself.

Critical Impact

High-privileged attackers can leverage this Improper Access Control vulnerability to read arbitrary files from the file system, potentially exposing sensitive configuration data, credentials, and other protected information. The changed scope indicates that successful exploitation can impact resources beyond the ColdFusion application itself.

Affected Products

• Adobe ColdFusion 2025 (base release and Update 1)
• Adobe ColdFusion 2023 (base release through Update 13)
• Adobe ColdFusion 2021 (base release through Update 19)

Discovery Timeline

• May 13, 2025 - CVE-2025-43564 published to NVD
• July 15, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-43564

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization), indicating a fundamental flaw in how ColdFusion validates and enforces access controls for file system operations. The improper access control mechanism fails to adequately verify whether authenticated administrative users should be permitted to access specific file system resources, creating an opportunity for privilege abuse.

The vulnerability allows high-privileged users (such as administrators) to bypass intended access restrictions and read files from arbitrary locations on the file system. While exploitation requires elevated privileges, the network-accessible attack vector and lack of required user interaction make this a significant concern for organizations running vulnerable ColdFusion deployments.

The changed scope characteristic is particularly noteworthy—successful exploitation can impact resources outside the vulnerable ColdFusion component's security scope, potentially affecting the underlying operating system, adjacent applications, or other sensitive assets on the same server.

Root Cause

The root cause is an Incorrect Authorization flaw (CWE-863) within Adobe ColdFusion's file access mechanisms. The application fails to properly validate authorization for file system operations, allowing users with high-level privileges to circumvent intended access restrictions. This improper access control implementation does not adequately enforce boundaries on which files can be accessed, even for authenticated administrative users.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, meaning exploitation can occur remotely without physical access to the target system. The attack characteristics include:

• Network accessibility: The vulnerability can be triggered remotely over HTTP/HTTPS connections to the ColdFusion server
• High privilege requirement: An attacker must possess administrative or high-privilege credentials to exploit this vulnerability
• No user interaction: Exploitation does not require any action from a victim user—the attack can be executed autonomously once authentication is achieved
• Changed scope: Successful exploitation impacts resources beyond the ColdFusion application's security context, potentially affecting the underlying host system

The exploitation process involves an authenticated high-privileged user crafting requests that leverage the improper access control to read files outside intended directories. For technical details, refer to the Adobe ColdFusion Security Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-43564

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual file access patterns in ColdFusion logs, particularly requests targeting system configuration files, /etc/passwd, or other sensitive paths
• Administrative account activity accessing files outside normal application directories
• Unexpected outbound data transfers following administrative sessions
• Anomalous read operations on files containing credentials or configuration data

Detection Strategies

• Monitor ColdFusion access logs for file path traversal patterns or requests to sensitive system files
• Implement file integrity monitoring on critical system files and ColdFusion configuration directories
• Review administrative account activity logs for unusual file access operations
• Deploy network-based detection rules to identify suspicious file read requests targeting known sensitive paths

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for ColdFusion administrative operations and file access activities
• Configure SIEM alerts for administrative accounts accessing files outside expected application paths
• Implement real-time monitoring of ColdFusion server processes for unexpected file system operations
• Establish baseline behavior for administrative accounts to detect anomalous access patterns

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-43564

Immediate Actions Required

• Apply the latest security updates from Adobe for all affected ColdFusion installations immediately
• Audit administrative account usage and restrict high-privilege access to essential personnel only
• Review and validate file system permissions on ColdFusion servers to enforce least-privilege principles
• Implement network segmentation to limit exposure of ColdFusion administrative interfaces

Patch Information

Adobe has released security bulletin APSB25-52 addressing this vulnerability. Organizations should upgrade to the following patched versions:

• ColdFusion 2025: Update 2 or later
• ColdFusion 2023: Update 14 or later
• ColdFusion 2021: Update 20 or later

Consult the official Adobe security advisory for detailed update instructions and additional hardening guidance.

Workarounds

• Restrict network access to ColdFusion administrative interfaces using firewall rules or web application firewall (WAF) policies
• Implement strict IP allowlisting for administrative access to ColdFusion servers
• Enforce multi-factor authentication for all administrative accounts
• Deploy additional access control layers at the operating system level to restrict ColdFusion's file system access

# Example: Restrict ColdFusion admin access to specific IPs using iptables
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8500 -s 10.0.0.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8500 -j DROP

# Ensure ColdFusion runs with minimal file system privileges
# Review and restrict cfusion user permissions
chmod 750 /opt/coldfusion/
chown -R cfusion:cfusion /opt/coldfusion/