Adobe ColdFusion: Path traversal in RDS enables arbitrary file system read
Summary
Adobe ColdFusion 2025 (up to 2025.0.13) and ColdFusion 2023 (up to 2023.0.25) contain a path traversal vulnerability in the Remote Development Services (RDS) feature (CWE-22). An unauthenticated remote attacker can read arbitrary files and directories outside the intended scope, which may expose sensitive data. RDS is a developer feature and is disabled by default in the Production configuration and in the Secure Profile.
Affected
- Adobe ColdFusion 2025: versions 0 to 2025.0.13
- Adobe ColdFusion 2023: versions 0 to 2023.0.25
Fixed in
- Adobe ColdFusion 2025: update to 2025.0.14 or later
- Adobe ColdFusion 2023: update to 2023.0.26 or later
Workaround
- Disable RDS in the ColdFusion Administrator under Security > RDS (Enable RDS service).
- Switch to the Production Secure Profile, which disables RDS automatically.
- Remove or restrict web access to the /CFIDE directory.
- RDS cannot be reliably blocked by firewall rules alone, because it shares the ColdFusion web server port.
Exploitation
- CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none, not automatable, partial technical impact.
- Attack requires no user interaction and no privileges according to the CVSS vector; scope is changed.
- Public reports in the research sources of this entry are not verified by the vendor; treat exposure as high until patched.
Our recommendation
- Update ColdFusion 2025 to 2025.0.14 or later and ColdFusion 2023 to 2023.0.26 or later.
- Disable RDS on all production and internet-facing servers, or enable the Production Secure Profile.
- Check whether the ColdFusion web port is reachable from the internet and restrict it.
- Review web server and ColdFusion logs for RDS connection attempts and unusual file access.
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- Adobe Security Bulletin APSB26-144 www.adobe.com
- Adobe: Security Remote Development Services (RDS) guides.adobe.com
- Adobe ColdFusion 2025 Lockdown Guide www.adobe.com
- Adobe: Install the server configuration guides.adobe.com
- STIG Viewer: V-279042 www.stigviewer.com
Researched and written up in English and German by an AI (Claude by Anthropic) based on NVD, CISA, EPSS and the sources listed. The vendor information is authoritative. Researched on 31 Oct 2026, 02:11.
Original description (NVD)
ColdFusion RDS is affected by an Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability that could lead to arbitrary file system read. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to access sensitive files and directories outside the intended access scope. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction. Scope is changed. RDS is purely a development feature meant for debugging purposes, and switching ColdFusion to Production Secure Profile automatically disables RDS. The Lockdown Guide outlines the specific step to disable RDS if a ColdFusion server is not being used in Production Secure Profile.
NVD references (6)
- https://guides.adobe.com/coldfusion/en/docs/coldfusion-tools/security-remote-development-services-rds.html
- https://guides.adobe.com/coldfusion/en/docs/install-and-configure-coldfusion/installing-the-server-configurat…
- https://helpx.adobe.com/coldfusion/configuring-administering/administering-coldfusion-security.html
- https://www.adobe.com/cc-shared/assets/pdf/products/coldfusion-family/coldfusion-2025-lockdown-guide-1-1.pdf
- https://www.adobe.com/trust/security/products/coldfusion/apsb26-144.html
- https://www.stigviewer.com/stigs/adobe_coldfusion/2026-05-13/finding/V-279042
Sources
The tracker combines official, freely usable data sources – updated continuously:
- NVD (NIST) – CVEs, rating (CVSS), affected products
- CISA KEV – vulnerabilities confirmed by CISA as actively exploited
- CISA Vulnrichment – CISA assessment (SSVC) in the official CVE record
- FIRST EPSS – probability of exploitation
- Microsoft MSRC – Patch Tuesday: vulnerabilities, severity, updates
- PoC-in-GitHub – public proof-of-concept repositories
- Metasploit (Rapid7) – modules of the Metasploit Framework
- Exploit-DB (OffSec) – archive of public exploits (links only)
- Patch days: official vendor pages (linked per vendor) (Vendor patch days)
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS data © FIRST.org.
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