CVE-2023-26360: Adobe ColdFusion Improper Access Control Arbitrary code execution
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Now (action score 93/100)
- CISA has confirmed exploitation in the wild (Mar 15, 2023). Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Apr 5, 2023.
- A ready-made attack module is public (Metasploit, Nuclei); exploiting it takes no special expertise.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 97.3% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 99.8% of all records.
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
- According to the record, no fixed version is available yet.
- Mentioned 1 time in Turkish national cyber security advisories (siberguvenlik.gov.tr).
Patch today or shut off access. Until a fix is released, restrict access to the affected component and follow the vendor's advisory.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · CISA KEV · FIRST EPSS
Adobe ColdFusion versions 2018 Update 15 (and earlier) and 2021 Update 5 (and earlier) are affected by an Improper Access Control vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.
- Published
- Mar 23, 2023
- Updated
- Jun 17, 2026
- EPSS
- 97.3% · 99th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-284
Report tools
Action score
93
Now
Patch today or shut off access.
- CVSS
- 34 / 40 · 8.6 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 30 / 30 · Listed
- EPSS
- 29 / 30 · 97.3%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- active
- Automatable
- yes
- Technical impact
- total
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · adobe
- 8.6
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Actively exploited in the wild
CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Mar 15, 2023. That signals real attacks, not theory.
Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Apr 5, 2023.
Get told when this record changes
- In CISA KEV: exploitation in the wild confirmed
- Weaponized exploit exists
- No fixed version yet
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
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Noroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| adobe | coldfusion | cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- adobe coldfusion2018
- adobe coldfusion2021
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (adobe). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
Adobe ColdFusion
- unspecified and later · up to and including CF2018U15affected
- unspecified and later · up to and including CF2021U5affected
- unspecified and later · up to and including Noneaffected
Same product
adobe: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2023-29300Adobe ColdFusion Deserialization of Untrusted Data Arbitrary code executionKEV99Now
- CVE-2018-15961Adobe ColdFusion versions July 12 release (2018.0.0.310739), Update 6 and earlier, and Update 14 and earlier have an unrestricted file uploaKEV99Now
- CVE-2010-2861Multiple directory traversal vulnerabilities in the administrator console in Adobe ColdFusion 9.0.1 and earlier allow remote attackers to reKEV99Now
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2022-42341Oct 14, 2022 · Adobe ColdFusion Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference Arbitrary file system read41Plan
- ← EarlierCVE-2023-26359Mar 23, 2023 · Adobe ColdFusion Deserialization of Untrusted Data Arbitrary code executionKEV74This week
- Later →CVE-2023-26361Mar 23, 2023 · Adobe ColdFusion Directory Traversal Arbitrary file system read Vulnerability37Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.
Exploit status
Weaponized
A ready exploit tool or active in-the-wild use is known for this vulnerability. This should be your top priority.
Evidence
- Metasploit module ×2
- Nuclei detection template ×1
- Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×6
Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.
| Source | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Metasploit module | auxiliary/gather/adobe_coldfusion_fileread_cve_2023_26360Adobe ColdFusion Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Readauxiliary | — |
| Metasploit module | exploit/multi/http/adobe_coldfusion_rce_cve_2023_26360Adobe ColdFusion Unauthenticated Remote Code Executionexploit | 2023-03-14 |
| Nuclei detection template | Nuclei template CVE-2023-26360 | — |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:4 | 2023-12-26 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:5 | 2024-05-14 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:1 | 2024-09-03 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:1 | 2025-10-28 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:0 | 2025-11-28 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:1 | 2026-05-16 |
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
- Metasploit-10 d
- CISA KEV-9 d
- Published
- First PoC+277 d
- TodayNov 4, 2026+1322 d
No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)
Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.
- TR-23-0698 · Dec 13, 2023(Adobe Güvenlik Güncellemesi)
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- high · data can be read
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- none
Impact can extend beyond the vulnerable component (scope changes).
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- None
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-284 · Improper Access ControlCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
nvd-secondary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- Embedding Scripts within ScriptsCAPEC-19likelihood: High · High
- Malicious Logic InsertionCAPEC-441likelihood: Medium · High
- Modification of Windows Service ConfigurationCAPEC-478likelihood: Low · High
- Malicious Root CertificateCAPEC-479likelihood: Low · Low
- Intent SpoofCAPEC-502
- WebView ExposureCAPEC-503
- Data Injected During ConfigurationCAPEC-536likelihood: Low · High
- Incomplete Data Deletion in a Multi-Tenant EnvironmentCAPEC-546likelihood: Low · Medium
ATT&CK techniques
- RootkitT1014
- Obfuscated Files or Information: Embedded PayloadsT1027.009
- Boot or Logon Initialization ScriptsT1037
- Taint shared contentT1080
- Server Software Component: Terminal Services DLLT1505.005
- Pre-OS Boot:BootkitT1542.003
- Create or Modify System ProcessT1543
- Create or Modify System Process: Launch AgentT1543.001
- Create or Modify System Process:Windows ServiceT1543.003
- Create or Modify System Process: Launch DaemonT1543.004
- Event Triggered Execution:Change Default File AssociationT1546.001
- Event Triggered Execution:.bash_profile and .bashrcT1546.004
- Event Triggered Execution: Accessibility FeaturesT1546.008
- Event Triggered Execution: Installer PackagesT1546.016
- Boot or Logon Autostart ExecutionT1547
- Boot or Logon Autostart Execution:Kernel Modules and ExtensionsT1547.006
Change log
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
Show all references (1 more)Show less
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.