Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2023-38204 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 Junk Data (T1001.001); ranked in the top 0.7% 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 2018u18 and earlier, 2021u8 and earlier, and 2023u2 and earlier are affected by a Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability tracked as CWE-502. The flaw carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8 and permits arbitrary code execution when untrusted data is deserialized.
An attacker can exploit the issue remotely over the network without authentication or user interaction, achieving full code execution on the affected ColdFusion server. The attack surface is therefore any internet-facing or internally reachable instance that processes serialized input from untrusted sources.
The official Adobe advisory APSB23-47 at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb23-47.html details the available patches that remediate the vulnerability across the supported versions.
The associated EPSS score rose from lower values after disclosure to a peak of 0.7800 on 2025-12-11 before receding to the current value of 0.7270, indicating that exploitation interest increased measurably in the period following public release.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-42024
Vulnerability Data
Adobe ColdFusion versions 2018u18 (and earlier), 2021u8 (and earlier) and 2023u2 (and earlier) are affected by a Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability that could result in Arbitrary code execution. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
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.
Penetration testing supplies malicious serialized objects, detecting unsafe deserialization and supporting corrective actions.
Evaluation of untrusted data handling (deserialization testing) reveals unsafe processing, which the required remediation process addresses.
Untrusted serialized data can be deserialized and observed inside the chamber, blocking gadget-chain exploitation outside the sandbox.
Validates or rejects untrusted serialized data before deserialization occurs.
Identifies and blocks malicious code introduced through deserialization of untrusted data at system boundaries.
Integrity verification of serialized information can detect tampering before deserialization occurs.
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 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.