{"id":"CVE-2023-38205","published":"2023-09-14T08:15:07Z","modified":"2026-06-17T06:09:39Z","title":"Adobe ColdFusion Improper Access Control Vulnerability","vendor":"Adobe","product":"ColdFusion","tier":"core","eol":null,"description":{"text":"Adobe ColdFusion versions 2018u18 (and earlier), 2021u8 (and earlier) and 2023u2 (and earlier) are affected by an Improper Access Control vulnerability that could result in a Security feature bypass. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to access the administration CFM and CFC endpoints. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"summary":{"text":"Adobe ColdFusion, in the 2018u18 and earlier, 2021u8 and earlier, and 2023u2 and earlier releases, contains an improper access control flaw that lets requests bypass a security feature. An attacker with network access can reach the administration CFM and CFC endpoints without authentication or user interaction, and the configuration in question is the one exposing those endpoints.","provenance":"ai","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","generatedAt":"2026-10-23T07:13:10Z"},"cvss":{"score":7.5,"severity":"HIGH","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"epss":{"score":0.99764,"percentile":0.99955,"date":"2026-10-30","provenance":"source"},"kev":{"dateAdded":"2023-07-20","dueDate":"2023-08-10","ransomware":false,"requiredAction":"Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.","notes":"https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb23-47.html ;  https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-38205","provenance":"source"},"vulncheckKev":{"dateAdded":"2023-07-20","exploitedFirstSeen":"2023-07-20","ransomware":false,"evidence":[{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","date":"2023-07-20"},{"url":"https://www.fortiguard.com/outbreak-alert/adobe-coldfusion-access-bypass","date":"2024-01-16"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2024-01-22&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2023-38205","date":"2024-01-22"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2024-01-24&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2023-38205","date":"2024-01-24"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2024-01-28&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2023-38205","date":"2024-01-28"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2024-01-30&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2023-38205","date":"2024-01-30"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2024-02-07&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2023-38205","date":"2024-02-07"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2024-02-08&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2023-38205","date":"2024-02-08"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2024-02-09&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2023-38205","date":"2024-02-09"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2024-02-12&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2023-38205","date":"2024-02-12"}],"evidenceTotal":337,"provenance":"source"},"exploited":true,"otx":{"pulseCount":50,"pulses":[{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 29, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae20c1db17e7057ae7d9ad1","created":"2026-10-28"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 28, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae0ba7e0e2a97ff7b218819","created":"2026-10-27"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 27, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adf68b85c3e852f3c111d18","created":"2026-10-26"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 24, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adb740e397c3ad4799aa4cd","created":"2026-10-23"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 23, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ada236fcfba2dfa730ea482","created":"2026-10-22"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 22, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad8d33a077cbb5cab524d80","created":"2026-10-21"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 21, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad78130c4d1ac2be83a8b6d","created":"2026-10-20"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 20, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad62f63c24a405a3423cc13","created":"2026-10-19"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 19, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad4dda174e5797d0bd238b7","created":"2026-10-18"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 18, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad38c22e1848f8189d1c121","created":"2026-10-17"}],"provenance":"machine"},"cwes":[{"id":"CWE-284","name":"Improper Access Control"}],"references":[{"url":"https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb23-47.html","tags":["Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb23-47.html","tags":["Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-38205","tags":["Third Party Advisory","US Government Resource"]}],"techniques":[{"id":"T1190","name":"Exploit Public-Facing Application","tactics":["initial-access"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-kev","bases":["ctid-kev"],"basisDetail":"CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Improper Access Control","mappingType":"exploitation_technique","evidence":[],"comment":"CVE-2023-38205 is a vulnerability that is the result of an incomplete patch of CVE-2023-29298. An adversary remains able to exploit the public-facing application as a result of this vulnerability.","confidence":"high"}],"reports":[],"affected":[],"advisories":[],"euvd":{"id":"EUVD-2023-42025","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2023-42025","exploited":true,"exploitedSince":"2023-07-20","provenance":"source"},"exploits":[],"exploitSources":{"nuclei":[{"id":"CVE-2023-38205","name":"Adobe ColdFusion - Access Control Bypass","severity":"high","path":"http/cves/2023/CVE-2023-38205.yaml","url":"https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2023/CVE-2023-38205.yaml"}],"provenance":"source"},"exploitRefs":[],"flow":[{"stage":"exploitation","techniques":["T1190"],"provenance":"source"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2023-07-20","kind":"exploited-reported","label":"Exploitation first reported (VulnCheck KEV evidence)","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2023-07-20","kind":"kev","label":"Added to CISA KEV","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2023-07-20","kind":"euvd-exploited","label":"ENISA EUVD: exploited","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2023-42025","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2023-09-14","kind":"published","label":"Published (NVD)","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-38205","provenance":"source"}],"speed":{"daysToPublicExploit":null,"firstExploitFrom":null,"daysToKev":null},"priority":{"score":68.2,"factors":[{"name":"In a KEV catalog","points":35.0,"detail":"listed in CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV"},{"name":"Recent KEV listing","points":0.0,"detail":"added 1199 days ago"},{"name":"Known ransomware use","points":0.0,"detail":"not known"},{"name":"EPSS percentile","points":19.99,"detail":"percentile 0.9996"},{"name":"Named in threat reports","points":0.0,"detail":"0 reports"},{"name":"Public exploit code","points":5.0,"detail":"1 nuclei template"},{"name":"Mentioned in OTX pulses","points":3.0,"detail":"50 pulses"},{"name":"CVSS severity","points":5.25,"detail":"base score 7.5"},{"name":"End-of-life product","points":0.0,"detail":"supported or unknown"}]},"lineage":{"familyId":"fam-class-adobe-coldfusion-cwe-284"}}