Security Resilience

CVE-2023-44350

RCE in Adobe Coldfusion ≤ 2021

Published
17 November 2023
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 0.65 99.2th percentile
Risk Priority 95 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-2023-44350 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 0.8% 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 2023.5 and earlier along with 2021.11 and earlier contain a deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability tracked as CWE-502. The flaw is rated 9.8 under CVSS 3.1 with an attack vector of network, low complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction, resulting in full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact through arbitrary code execution.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can supply a malicious serialized object to an affected ColdFusion instance and trigger code execution without any user interaction or authentication. Successful exploitation grants the attacker complete control over the server process and underlying system.

The official Adobe advisory at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb23-52.html details the available patches and recommended remediation steps for both supported branches. The associated EPSS score has remained at 0.6189 with no material increase after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Adobe ColdFusion versions 2023.5 (and earlier) and 2021.11 (and earlier) are affected by an 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

T1001.001 Junk Data Command And Control
Adversaries may add junk data to protocols used for command and control to make detection more difficult.
T1001.003 Protocol or Service Impersonation Command And Control
Adversaries may impersonate legitimate protocols or web service traffic to disguise command and control activity and thwart analysis efforts.
T1003.001 LSASS Memory Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).
T1003.007 Proc Filesystem Credential Access
Adversaries may gather credentials from the proc filesystem or `/proc`.
T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
T1006 Direct Volume Access Stealth
Adversaries may directly access a volume to bypass file access controls and file system monitoring.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-44353Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2023-38204Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2025-24447Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2017-3066Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2025-30284Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2023-38203Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2024-41874Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2018-4939Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2023-44351Same product: Adobe Coldfusion
CVE-2023-29300Same product: Adobe Coldfusion

Affected Assets

adobe
coldfusion
2021, 2023 · ≤ 2021

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
blocks

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.

removes
removes
removes
removes
removes

References