Security Resilience

CVE-2023-26361

Path Traversal in Adobe Coldfusion 2018 … 2021

High EPSSPath Traversal
Published
23 March 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 4.9
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.59 99.1th percentile
Risk Priority 70 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-26361 is a medium-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Adobe Coldfusion. Its CVSS base score is 4.9 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 0.9% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

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 2018 Update 15 and earlier, along with 2021 Update 5 and earlier, are affected by a path traversal vulnerability tracked as CWE-22. The flaw permits arbitrary file system reads and carries a CVSS 4.9 rating reflecting network accessibility, low attack complexity, and high confidentiality impact when successfully exploited.

An authenticated administrator can leverage the issue without user interaction to read arbitrary files on the server. No other privileges or special conditions are required beyond the administrative account.

Adobe published mitigation guidance and patch information in advisory APSB23-25, available at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb23-25.html.

The associated EPSS score rose from a lower baseline to a peak of 0.3213 on 2025-12-11 before receding to the current value of 0.1289, indicating a period of increased exploitation interest after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access Control

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Adobe ColdFusion versions 2018 Update 15 (and earlier) and 2021 Update 5 (and earlier) are affected by an Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability that could result in Arbitrary file system read. Exploitation of…

more

this issue does not require user interaction, but does require administrator privileges.

CWE(s)
CWE-22

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.006 DCSync Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interface (API)(Citation: Microsoft DRSR Dec 2017) (Citation: Microsoft GetNCCChanges) (Citati…
attack.mitre.org →
T1016.001 Internet Connection Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may check for Internet connectivity on compromised systems.
attack.mitre.org →
T1018 Remote System Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of other systems by IP address, hostname, or other logical identifier on a network that may be used for Lateral Movement from the current system.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-30290Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2026-27305Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2025-43566Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2025-54261Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2024-53961Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2010-2861Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2026-34619Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2026-47932Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2025-61811Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2022-38418Same product: Adobe Coldfusion

Affected Assets

adobe
coldfusion
2018, 2021

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.3.2

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.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-22

Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.

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 partial match
blocks

Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.

PR.AA-05 none match
blocks

PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.

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.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

References