Cyber Resilience

CVE-2017-3066

RCE in Adobe Coldfusion 10.0 … 2016

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRCEDeserialization
Published
27 April 2017
Modified
22 April 2026
KEV Added
24 February 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.91 99.8th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2017-3066 is a critical-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502) vulnerability in Adobe Coldfusion. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 0.2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

Adobe ColdFusion 2016 Update 3 and earlier, ColdFusion 11 Update 11 and earlier, and ColdFusion 10 Update 22 and earlier contain a Java deserialization vulnerability (CWE-502) in the Apache BlazeDS library. The flaw carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8 and permits unauthenticated remote code execution when untrusted data is deserialized.

An attacker with network access can supply a crafted serialized Java object to the affected BlazeDS endpoint without authentication or user interaction. Successful exploitation grants arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the ColdFusion process, resulting in full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact on the server.

The Adobe security bulletin APSB17-14 at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb17-14.html addresses the issue and provides patch information for supported ColdFusion releases. Public exploit code for the vulnerability has been published on Exploit-DB.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Adobe ColdFusion 2016 Update 3 and earlier, ColdFusion 11 update 11 and earlier, ColdFusion 10 Update 22 and earlier have a Java deserialization vulnerability in the Apache BlazeDS library. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
24 February 2025

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-29300Same product: Adobe Coldfusionboth on KEV
CVE-2023-26359Same product: Adobe Coldfusionboth on KEV
CVE-2023-38203Same product: Adobe Coldfusionboth on KEV
CVE-2018-4939Same product: Adobe Coldfusionboth on KEV
CVE-2023-44350Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2023-44351Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2023-38204Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2025-61810Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2025-30284Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2024-41874Same product: Adobe Coldfusion

Affected Assets

adobe
coldfusion
10.0, 11.0, 2016

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-502

Penetration testing supplies malicious serialized objects, detecting unsafe deserialization and supporting corrective actions.

addresses: CWE-502

Evaluation of untrusted data handling (deserialization testing) reveals unsafe processing, which the required remediation process addresses.

addresses: CWE-502

Untrusted serialized data can be deserialized and observed inside the chamber, blocking gadget-chain exploitation outside the sandbox.

addresses: CWE-502

Validates or rejects untrusted serialized data before deserialization occurs.

addresses: CWE-502

Identifies and blocks malicious code introduced through deserialization of untrusted data at system boundaries.

addresses: CWE-502

Integrity verification of serialized information can detect tampering before deserialization occurs.

addresses: CWE-502

Provenance of associated data allows detection of untrusted sources before deserialization or processing occurs.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-02 none match
prevents

PR.PS-02 addresses only post-deployment updates/patching and cannot prevent introduction of unsafe deserialization code, yet it can remediate some instances when the flaw exists in outdated libraries or components.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing includes validation of deserialization routines and the use of untrusted data, reducing the likelihood that unsafe object reconstruction will be deployed.

prevents

Requiring vetted libraries, regular updates and SAST before release reduces the likelihood that deserialization logic will accept and act on attacker-controlled serialized objects.

finds

Regular scanning of third-party libraries and timely patching reduce the likelihood that unsafe deserialization vulnerabilities remain active.

none

Mandatory malware scanning of data received over networks or storage media intercepts malicious serialized payloads before they are deserialized by the target application.

References