CVE-2026-76000 Overview
CVE-2026-76000 is an Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability [CWE-400] in Adobe ColdFusion. An attacker on an adjacent network can exhaust system resources and trigger an application denial-of-service (DoS) condition. Exploitation requires no user interaction and no privileges. The flaw affects the availability of the ColdFusion application server but does not impact data confidentiality or integrity.
Adobe published the advisory as APSB26-119. The vulnerability was disclosed on September 8, 2026.
Critical Impact
An unauthenticated adjacent-network attacker can render the ColdFusion application unavailable by exhausting server resources, disrupting any business service dependent on the affected instance.
Affected Products
- Adobe ColdFusion (versions listed in Adobe advisory APSB26-119)
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-09-08 - CVE-2026-76000 published to NVD
- 2026-09-08 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2026-76000
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-76000 is an Uncontrolled Resource Consumption issue in Adobe ColdFusion. The vulnerability lets an attacker send crafted input that forces ColdFusion to allocate excessive memory, threads, connections, or CPU cycles. Sustained exploitation drives the application into an unresponsive state, denying service to legitimate users.
The issue is reachable over an adjacent network, meaning the attacker must have logical proximity such as the same physical or virtual network segment. Authentication is not required, and no user interaction is involved. Because the impact is limited to availability, the vulnerability does not enable data theft or code execution, but it can be weaponized to disrupt business-critical ColdFusion workloads.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing or insufficient enforcement of resource limits on incoming requests or operations handled by ColdFusion. Under CWE-400, the application processes attacker-controlled input without bounding the resources consumed per request, per connection, or per session. Refer to the Adobe ColdFusion Security Advisory APSB26-119 for the vendor's technical description.
Attack Vector
The attack originates from an adjacent network. An attacker sends specially crafted requests to a reachable ColdFusion instance and repeats or amplifies them to exhaust server-side resources. The application eventually stops servicing legitimate traffic, producing a denial-of-service outcome. Because the vector is unauthenticated, any host that can reach the ColdFusion service on the local segment is a potential source of attack.
No public proof-of-concept exploit is currently associated with this CVE, and it is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. See the Adobe ColdFusion Security Advisory for vendor guidance.
Detection Methods for CVE-2026-76000
Indicators of Compromise
- Sudden increase in ColdFusion JVM heap usage, thread count, or open connections without a corresponding rise in legitimate user traffic.
- Repeated high-volume or malformed requests from a single adjacent-network source targeting ColdFusion endpoints.
- ColdFusion application logs showing request timeouts, thread pool exhaustion, or OutOfMemoryError events.
- Application unresponsiveness or service restarts coinciding with unusual inbound traffic patterns.
Detection Strategies
- Baseline normal request rates, connection counts, and resource utilization for each ColdFusion instance, then alert on statistical deviations.
- Correlate web server access logs with ColdFusion JVM metrics to identify requests that consume disproportionate CPU or memory.
- Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules that flag anomalous request sizes, unusual parameter counts, or high request frequency from single sources.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Continuously monitor ColdFusion server metrics including active threads, heap usage, request queue depth, and response latency.
- Forward ColdFusion, web server, and network flow logs to a centralized SIEM or data lake for cross-source analysis.
- Enable alerting on service health probes so that resource exhaustion produces a rapid operational response.
How to Mitigate CVE-2026-76000
Immediate Actions Required
- Apply the updates referenced in Adobe ColdFusion Security Advisory APSB26-119 to all affected ColdFusion instances.
- Restrict adjacent-network access to ColdFusion services using network segmentation, firewall rules, and access control lists.
- Enforce rate limiting and connection throttling at upstream load balancers or reverse proxies.
- Review ColdFusion administrator settings for request timeout, maximum concurrent requests, and JVM heap size limits.
Patch Information
Adobe has published patches in advisory APSB26-119. Administrators should identify their installed ColdFusion version, consult the advisory for the corresponding fixed release, and schedule an update following change-control procedures. Validate the patch in a staging environment before rolling to production.
Workarounds
- Place ColdFusion behind a WAF or reverse proxy configured to block anomalous request rates and enforce request size limits.
- Reduce ColdFusion request timeout values and cap the maximum number of concurrent request handlers to limit resource consumption.
- Isolate ColdFusion servers on a dedicated network segment accessible only to trusted application tiers and administrative hosts.
# Example: rate-limit inbound requests to ColdFusion using iptables
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8500 -m conntrack --ctstate NEW \
-m limit --limit 30/second --limit-burst 60 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8500 -m conntrack --ctstate NEW -j DROP
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
