CVE-2013-3349 in ColdFusion
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Adobe ColdFusion 9.0 through 9.0.2, when the JRun application server is used, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/18/2021
Adobe ColdFusion versions 9.0 through 9.0.2 running on the JRun application server contain an unspecified vulnerability that enables remote attackers to induce denial of service conditions through unknown attack vectors. This vulnerability represents a critical security flaw within the application server infrastructure that affects organizations relying on ColdFusion for web application deployment. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability details suggests that the exact technical mechanism remains undisclosed, which is common in early vulnerability disclosures where full technical analysis has not yet been completed by vendors or security researchers.
The vulnerability specifically manifests when ColdFusion operates in conjunction with the JRun application server environment, indicating that the flaw is deeply integrated into the server-side processing architecture. This configuration presents a significant risk because JRun serves as the underlying application container that executes ColdFusion applications, making it a prime target for exploitation. The denial of service impact means that successful exploitation could render web applications unavailable to legitimate users, potentially causing business disruption and financial losses. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to repeatedly crash or destabilize ColdFusion services without requiring authentication or specific privileges, making it particularly dangerous in production environments.
From a technical perspective, this vulnerability aligns with common denial of service attack patterns that target application server components. The JRun server architecture in ColdFusion 9.0 through 9.0.2 likely contains memory management issues, resource handling flaws, or thread management problems that can be triggered remotely. These types of vulnerabilities often stem from improper input validation, buffer overflows, or resource exhaustion conditions that can be exploited through carefully crafted requests to the ColdFusion application server. The vulnerability's classification as unspecified suggests that it may involve complex interactions between multiple system components or may be related to specific processing paths within the server implementation.
Organizations utilizing affected ColdFusion versions should consider this vulnerability as a high-priority security concern requiring immediate attention. The lack of specific exploitation details does not diminish the severity of the potential impact, as denial of service conditions can have cascading effects throughout enterprise infrastructure. Security teams should implement network segmentation to limit access to ColdFusion servers, deploy intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious traffic patterns, and maintain comprehensive backup and recovery procedures. The vulnerability may be related to CWE-400 - Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, which is a common weakness in application servers that can lead to service disruption.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate patching of affected systems to the latest ColdFusion versions that address this vulnerability, as well as implementing network-level controls to restrict access to ColdFusion administration interfaces. Organizations should also consider deploying application firewalls and monitoring systems that can detect and block potentially malicious requests to the JRun server components. The vulnerability may align with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 - Endpoint Denial of Service, which focuses on disrupting services through endpoint vulnerabilities. Regular security assessments should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in legacy systems and ensure that all ColdFusion installations are updated to supported versions that have undergone comprehensive security review and testing.