CVE-2026-48277: Adobe ColdFusion RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2026-48277 Overview

CVE-2026-48277 is an Improper Input Validation vulnerability [CWE-20] affecting Adobe ColdFusion versions 2025.9, 2023.20, and earlier. The flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user over the network. Exploitation requires no user interaction and results in a scope change, meaning impact extends beyond the vulnerable component. Adobe published the fix in security bulletin APSB26-68.

Critical Impact
An unauthenticated remote attacker can achieve arbitrary code execution on affected ColdFusion servers, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 10.0 and EPSS probability of 0.855% (percentile 53.881).

Affected Products

Adobe ColdFusion 2025 (base through Update 9)
Adobe ColdFusion 2023 (base through Update 20)
Earlier ColdFusion releases as noted in APSB26-68

Discovery Timeline

2026-06-30 - CVE-2026-48277 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-07-01 - Last updated in NVD database
2026-07-02 - EPSS score calculated at 0.855%

Technical Details for CVE-2026-48277

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2026-48277 stems from improper input validation in Adobe ColdFusion. The affected code paths accept untrusted input from network requests without enforcing sufficient constraints on structure, type, or content. An attacker can craft a request that traverses these paths and forces the server to process attacker-controlled data as executable logic.

The scope change indicated in the CVSS vector signals that successful exploitation impacts resources beyond the immediate ColdFusion process. This behavior typically arises when the vulnerable component runs with privileges that extend into the underlying host, database, or adjacent services. Confidentiality, integrity, and availability are all rated High.

ColdFusion historically exposes several remote endpoints, including the administrator console, component invocation handlers, and serialization interfaces. Improper input validation in any of these surfaces provides a direct route to code execution because ColdFusion evaluates server-side CFML and Java constructs during request handling.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or insufficient validation of attacker-controlled input, tracked as [CWE-20]. ColdFusion accepts a request parameter, header, or serialized payload and passes it into a sensitive processing routine without confirming that the value matches an expected schema. This gap allows an attacker to influence downstream execution flow.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is Network with Low attack complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction. An attacker sends a crafted HTTP or HTTPS request to a reachable ColdFusion instance. The request delivers malformed input that the application processes as trusted data, resulting in arbitrary code execution in the context of the ColdFusion service account.

No verified public proof-of-concept code is available at the time of writing. Adobe has not disclosed exploitation in the wild, and the CVE is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. See the Adobe ColdFusion Security Advisory for vendor-supplied technical detail.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-48277

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected child processes spawned by coldfusion.exe, jrun.exe, or the JVM hosting ColdFusion, particularly cmd.exe, powershell.exe, bash, or sh.
New or modified .cfm, .cfc, or .jsp files under wwwroot, CFIDE, or custom application directories that were not deployed by administrators.
Outbound network connections from the ColdFusion service account to unfamiliar external hosts shortly after inbound HTTP requests to /CFIDE/, /flex2gateway/, or component-invocation URLs.

Detection Strategies

Alert on anomalous process lineage where the ColdFusion JVM spawns interactive shells, scripting hosts, or reconnaissance utilities such as whoami, net, or ipconfig.
Inspect HTTP logs for requests containing serialized payloads, unusually long parameter values, or unexpected content types targeting ColdFusion endpoints.
Correlate web-tier request logs with endpoint telemetry to identify request-to-execution chains that terminate in file drops or credential access.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable ColdFusion Administrator logging and forward application.log, exception.log, and web server access logs to a centralized SIEM or data lake.
Monitor integrity of the ColdFusion install path, WEB-INF, and any writable webroot directory for unauthorized file creation.
Track authentication and administrative activity on the ColdFusion Administrator interface for unexpected sessions or configuration changes.

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-48277

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the ColdFusion security updates referenced in Adobe bulletin APSB26-68 to all ColdFusion 2025 and 2023 installations.
Inventory ColdFusion assets, including development and staging systems, and confirm build numbers match the patched release.
Restrict network access to ColdFusion Administrator (/CFIDE/administrator/) and internal management endpoints to trusted management networks only.
Rotate credentials, data source secrets, and API keys stored on any ColdFusion host that was internet-exposed prior to patching.

Patch Information

Adobe released fixed builds through the Adobe ColdFusion Security Advisory covering ColdFusion 2025 and ColdFusion 2023. Administrators should follow the version-specific update instructions provided by Adobe and validate the update through the ColdFusion Administrator version page after installation.

Workarounds

If patching is delayed, place ColdFusion behind a web application firewall configured to block malformed serialized payloads and requests targeting known ColdFusion attack surfaces.
Run the ColdFusion service under a least-privilege account and disable unused features such as Flex integration, remote CFC invocation, and the RDS service.
Apply Adobe's ColdFusion Lockdown Guide recommendations to reduce reachable code paths until updates are deployed.

bash

# Configuration example: restrict ColdFusion Administrator access at the reverse proxy
location /CFIDE/administrator/ {
    allow 10.0.0.0/8;
    deny all;
    proxy_pass http://coldfusion_backend;
}