CVE-2026-106623 in ColdFusion
Summary
by MITRE • 10/13/2026
ColdFusion is affected by an Incorrect Authorization vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to disclose sensitive information. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/13/2026
The identified vulnerability in Adobe ColdFusion represents a critical failure in access control mechanisms, specifically categorized under the domain of Incorrect Authorization. This flaw allows an unauthorized actor to bypass intended security restrictions and gain elevated privileges or access to resources that should be restricted based on their authentication status. In this specific instance, the consequence of this authorization failure is the disclosure of sensitive memory contents from the application server. Such a vulnerability falls squarely within the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) framework under CWE-269, which denotes Improper Privilege Management, and more specifically aligns with CWE-732 in scenarios where improper access control leads to information exposure. The ability to read sensitive memory is particularly dangerous as it can expose cryptographic keys, session tokens, user credentials, or proprietary application logic that are stored temporarily during runtime operations.
From an operational perspective, the impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data leakage. An attacker who successfully exploits this flaw could potentially reconstruct authentication mechanisms for other users by extracting session identifiers or password hashes from memory dumps. This capability significantly lowers the barrier for subsequent attacks such as account takeover, privilege escalation, and lateral movement within a networked environment. The exploitation does not require user interaction, which classifies it as an attack vector that can be automated and executed remotely without any social engineering components. This characteristic aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078, Valid Accounts, if the attacker uses stolen credentials derived from memory, or more directly with data exfiltration techniques where sensitive information is accessed through improper access controls rather than direct injection attacks like SQLi or XSS.
The technical root cause typically involves a misconfiguration in how ColdFusion handles requests to internal endpoints that are not properly secured against unauthenticated access. These endpoints may expose debugging information, diagnostic tools, or administrative interfaces that inadvertently leak memory structures when queried by an external party. Because the vulnerability does not require user interaction, it is highly susceptible to automated scanning and exploitation by malicious actors actively probing for vulnerable instances on the internet. The lack of required user action means that even users who are unaware of their exposure remain at risk, as the exploit can be triggered simply by sending a crafted HTTP request to the affected server endpoint.
Mitigation strategies must focus immediately on restricting access to administrative and diagnostic interfaces. Administrators should ensure that all ColdFusion administration pages and debugging tools are disabled in production environments or restricted via IP whitelisting so they are not accessible from untrusted networks. It is also critical to apply the latest security patches provided by Adobe, as these updates typically include fixes for authorization logic errors that allow such memory disclosures. Additionally, implementing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules designed to detect and block requests targeting known vulnerable endpoints can provide an additional layer of defense while patching efforts are underway. Regular audits of access control configurations and continuous monitoring for anomalous traffic patterns directed at internal application interfaces will help in detecting potential exploitation attempts early.