CVE-2025-43565: Adobe ColdFusion Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-43565 Overview

CVE-2025-43565 is an Incorrect Authorization vulnerability [CWE-863] affecting Adobe ColdFusion versions 2025.1, 2023.13, 2021.19, and earlier. The flaw allows a high-privileged attacker to bypass security protections and execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. Exploitation requires user interaction and results in a scope change, meaning the impact extends beyond the vulnerable component.

Adobe addressed the issue in the Adobe ColdFusion Security Advisory APSB25-52. The EPSS score of 9.483% places this vulnerability in the 94th percentile for likely exploitation, indicating elevated risk relative to most published CVEs.

Critical Impact
Arbitrary code execution with full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact across security scope boundaries on affected ColdFusion servers.

Affected Products

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

Discovery Timeline

2025-05-13 - CVE-2025-43565 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-43565

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability stems from an authorization check failure within Adobe ColdFusion's request handling logic. ColdFusion enforces authorization decisions to restrict which users can invoke privileged operations, but the affected versions evaluate these checks incorrectly. As a result, attackers holding high-privilege credentials can reach code paths that should remain inaccessible based on policy.

Once the authorization control is bypassed, the attacker triggers arbitrary code execution in the context of the running user. The vulnerability falls under [CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization], where the application performs an authorization check but the logic incorrectly grants access. The scope change indicates that exploitation affects resources beyond the vulnerable ColdFusion component itself, such as host operating system processes or downstream applications.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper validation of authorization state when processing certain requests in the ColdFusion application server. The check exists but does not correctly enforce the intended security boundary. Adobe has not published technical specifics of the authorization logic flaw in the public advisory.

Attack Vector

Exploitation occurs over the network and requires both high privileges and user interaction. A high-privileged attacker, such as an authenticated administrator or developer account, must induce a user to perform an action that triggers the vulnerable code path. After the authorization check is bypassed, attacker-controlled logic executes on the ColdFusion server. Refer to the Adobe ColdFusion Security Advisory for vendor guidance.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-43565

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected cfm or cfc file creation or modification in ColdFusion web roots and CFIDE directories
Outbound network connections originating from the coldfusion.exe or jrun.exe process to untrusted hosts
Newly spawned child processes from ColdFusion (cmd.exe, powershell.exe, /bin/sh) without administrative justification
Authentication events showing privileged ColdFusion Administrator logins from unusual source IPs

Detection Strategies

Monitor ColdFusion Administrator authentication logs at cfusion/logs/audit.log for unexpected high-privilege sessions
Inspect ColdFusion application logs for failed authorization events followed by successful privileged operations
Apply behavioral analytics to flag the ColdFusion JVM process spawning shell interpreters or scripting hosts
Correlate web access logs for suspicious POST requests to administrative endpoints under /CFIDE/administrator/ and /CFIDE/adminapi/

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward ColdFusion server logs, web server logs, and host process telemetry to a centralized SIEM for correlation
Establish baselines for normal ColdFusion process behavior to detect anomalous child process creation
Alert on file integrity changes in ColdFusion installation directories and web application content

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-43565

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the security updates published in Adobe Security Bulletin APSB25-52 to ColdFusion 2021, 2023, and 2025 installations
Restrict access to the ColdFusion Administrator interface to trusted management networks only
Audit all high-privilege ColdFusion accounts and rotate credentials following patch deployment
Review web server and ColdFusion logs for indicators of prior exploitation attempts

Patch Information

Adobe released fixed builds documented in advisory APSB25-52. Administrators should upgrade ColdFusion 2025 to a release later than Update 1, ColdFusion 2023 to a release later than Update 13, and ColdFusion 2021 to a release later than Update 19. Consult the vendor advisory for exact build numbers and installation instructions.

Workarounds

Enforce least privilege on ColdFusion accounts by removing administrative roles from accounts that do not require them
Place ColdFusion behind a web application firewall with rules blocking unsolicited administrative API requests
Disable unused ColdFusion components, scheduled tasks, and data sources to reduce the available attack surface
Apply network segmentation so ColdFusion servers cannot initiate arbitrary outbound connections from production zones

bash

# Configuration example: restrict ColdFusion Administrator access by IP
# In the web server (Apache) configuration:
<Location /CFIDE/administrator>
    Require ip 10.0.0.0/8
    Require ip 192.168.10.0/24
</Location>

<Location /CFIDE/adminapi>
    Require ip 10.0.0.0/8
</Location>