CVE-2023-38203
Adobe ColdFusion versions 2018u17 (and earlier), 2021u7 (and earlier) and 2023u1 (and earlier) are affected by a Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability that could result in Arbitrary code execution. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.
- CVSS
- 9.8Criticalscored by the publisher (CNA)
- Exploited in the wild
- Yes, in CISA KEV since 8 Jan 2024CISA deadline for US federal agencies: 29 Jan 2024known use in ransomware campaigns
- EPSS
- 97.1%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 0.2% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
- Fix
- Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
- Published
- 20 Jul 2023analysed here 12 Nov 2026
Do first. Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. (CISA's required action for this KEV entry)
Summary
Triage
- Attack surface
- Server-side
- Exploitable
- At runtime
- Attack vector
- network
- Weakness
- CWE-502 Insecure Deserialization
The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.
Affected products
| Product | Affected versions | Vendor says fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe ColdFusion | <= cf2023U1Vendor says fixed in: not stated |
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.
Products named in our analysis
- adobe:coldfusion
Fix and mitigation
WAF and other mitigations
Can a WAF block it? Partly. Insecure deserialization payloads can be built from many different gadget chains, so WAF signatures only catch the known ones.
Also consider: allow-list classes · patch
Based on the weakness type only; no CVE-specific evidence yet. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Remediation steps (AI-written)
Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.
Exploitation evidence
- CISA KEV catalog
- Listed since 8 Jan 2024. Known use in ransomware campaigns.
- CISA due date
- 29 Jan 2024, the remediation deadline for US federal agencies
- CISA required action
- Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
- Public exploit code
- Detection templates only, no public exploit found: 1 Nuclei template
- CISA SSVC
- exploitation active, automatable yes, technical impact totalAssessed by CISA 8 Jan 2024 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.
Nuclei
- Adobe ColdFusion - Deserialization of Untrusted Datadetection template, critical
Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.
Timeline
- 20 Jul 2023Published
- 8 Jan 2024Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild)171 days (about 6 months) later
- 8 Jan 2024CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active1 day later
- 29 Jan 2024CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies)20 days later
- 21 Oct 2025CVE record last updated632 days (about 2 years) later
- 12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com387 days (about 1 year) later
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | NetworkReachable over the internet or any routable network. | Reachable over the internet or any routable network. |
| Attack complexity | LowRepeatable attack, no special conditions. | Repeatable attack, no special conditions. |
| Privileges required | NoneThe attacker needs no prior access. | The attacker needs no prior access. |
| User interaction | NoneNo victim action needed. | No victim action needed. |
| Scope | UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component. | Impact stays within the vulnerable component. |
| Confidentiality | HighTotal data disclosure possible. | Total data disclosure possible. |
| Integrity | HighComplete modification possible. | Complete modification possible. |
| Availability | HighFull outage possible. | Full outage possible. |
Common questions
Is CVE-2023-38203 being exploited?
Yes. CVE-2023-38203 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.
How severe is CVE-2023-38203?
CVE-2023-38203 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 9.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2023-38203?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2023-38203. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2023-38203 affect?
CVE-2023-38203 affects adobe:coldfusion. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
References
2 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.
Advisories (1)
- helpx.adobe.com /security/products/coldfusion/apsb23-41.html
Other links (1)
- cisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-38203
Where the data on this page comes from
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Nuclei templates: detection templates
Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.
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