The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has identified a significant security flaw within Adobe ColdFusion, listing it in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog as of March 15. The inclusion follows evidence of active exploitation targeting the critical vulnerability, recorded as CVE-2023-26360, which bears a CVSS score of 8.6 and can be leveraged by malicious actors for arbitrary code execution.
CISA has detailed that this particular vulnerability arises from improper access control mechanisms within Adobe ColdFusion, enabling potential remote code execution from threat actors. This underscores the urgent need for businesses relying on ColdFusion to assess their exposure and apply necessary patches.
The flaw predominantly impacts ColdFusion versions 2018 (Update 15 and earlier) and 2021 (Update 5 and earlier). Adobe has since released updated versions—Update 16 for ColdFusion 2018 and Update 6 for ColdFusion 2021—on March 14, 2023, to rectify this vulnerability. Additionally, it is worth noting that ColdFusion 2016 and ColdFusion 11 installations are also at risk; however, support for these versions has lapsed as they have reached the end-of-life (EoL) stage, a factor that heightens the risk for organizations still utilizing them.
Although precise details about the ongoing attacks remain scarce, Adobe acknowledges in its advisory that the vulnerability has been “exploited in the wild in very limited attacks,” indicating that while the risk exists, it may not have yet reached widespread impact. Nonetheless, federal agencies, particularly those under the Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB), are mandated to implement the recent updates by April 5, 2023, to fend off potential threats posed by this vulnerability.
Security expert Charlie Arehart, who was instrumental in bringing this issue to light alongside colleague Pete Freitag, described the vulnerability as “grave,” emphasizing that it could lead to both arbitrary code execution and arbitrary file system read capabilities. Such characteristics imply a concerning level of access enabling attackers to exploit systems effectively.
The potential tactics employed in exploiting CVE-2023-26360 align with methods outlined in the MITRE ATT&CK framework, particularly those categorized under initial access and execution vectors. These tactics provide insights into how threat actors could gain entry and extend their foothold within affected systems, raising alarms for organizations operating within vulnerable environments.
In light of this vulnerability, it is imperative for business leaders to understand the cybersecurity landscape and take proactive measures to mitigate risks. The emergence of CVE-2023-26360 serves as a strong reminder of the ever-present threats in cybersecurity and the necessity for organizations to stay vigilant.