Cyber Resilience

CVE-2022-35711

Memory Safety in Adobe Coldfusion 2018 … 2021

High EPSSMemory Safety
Published
14 October 2022
Modified
21 November 2024
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 0.73 99.4th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2022-35711 is a critical-severity Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122) vulnerability in Adobe Coldfusion. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.6% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-16 (Memory Protection) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

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 versions Update 14 and earlier, along with Update 4 and earlier, contain a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability tracked as CVE-2022-35711. The flaw is identified under CWE-122 and CWE-787 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8, reflecting network-accessible exploitation without authentication or user interaction. Successful abuse can yield arbitrary code execution in the context of the process handling the request.

An unauthenticated attacker can trigger the issue by sending a crafted network packet to an affected ColdFusion server. Because the vulnerability resides in packet processing logic, remote code execution is possible with no additional user assistance or local access required.

Adobe published advisory APSB22-44 detailing the affected builds and directing customers to apply the corresponding security updates for ColdFusion. The EPSS score has remained flat at a peak of 0.2123 since disclosure, indicating no significant increase in observed exploitation interest.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Adobe ColdFusion versions Update 14 (and earlier) and Update 4 (and earlier) are affected by a Heap-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue does not…

more

require user interaction, the vulnerability is triggered when a crafted network packet is sent to the server.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Accessconfidence: HIGH
Unauthenticated remote network packet triggers heap buffer overflow leading to arbitrary code execution on a public-facing ColdFusion server.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Executionconfidence: HIGH
Exploitation of the client-side ColdFusion component via malicious network input results in code execution without user interaction.
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2022-35690Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2024-52999Same vendor: Adobe
CVE-2025-61837Same vendor: Adobe
CVE-2025-21139Same vendor: Adobe
CVE-2024-53957Same vendor: Adobe
CVE-2025-61829Same vendor: Adobe
CVE-2023-29283Same vendor: Adobe
CVE-2025-21169Same vendor: Adobe
CVE-2025-61827Same vendor: Adobe
CVE-2025-24443Same vendor: Adobe

Affected Assets

adobe
coldfusion
2018, 2021

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-2 Flaw Remediation
  • SI-16 Memory Protection
  • SI-10 Information Input Validation
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly requires applying the vendor security updates that remediate the heap buffer overflow in ColdFusion packet processing.

prevent

Enforces memory-protection mechanisms (ASLR, DEP, guard pages) that block exploitation of the heap-based buffer overflow.

prevent

Requires validation of all input (including network packets) to prevent malformed data from triggering the buffer overflow.

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-06 full match
prevents

Secure-development practices directly require bounds checking and safe memory handling that prevent heap overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover heap-overflow flaws but does not prevent their introduction in code.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Timely patching removes known heap-overflow instances after they exist.

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.

detects

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect heap overflows before release.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates practices that reduce the likelihood of introducing heap overflows.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory APIs that mitigate heap overflows.

prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safety and input-validation controls that address heap overflows.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe techniques (safe functions, bounds checks) that prevent heap-based buffer overflows.

prevents

Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.

References