CVE-2023-38205Known exploitationPublic exploitNetwork attack vector

Unauthenticated admin endpoint exposure via malformed path canonicalization

Published Sep 14, 2023 · Updated Oct 21, 2025

Improper access control in Adobe ColdFusion 2018u18, 2021u8, and 2023u2 and earlier allows remote attackers to reach restricted admin endpoints. IPFilterUtils.checkAdminAccess canonicalizes a crafted /segment/..CFIDE path without restoring its leading slash, so restricted-path prefix checks miss it while the servlet still resolves the endpoint. No authentication or user interaction is required; the bypass defeats IP allowlisting but does not itself authorize protected endpoint operations.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability99.74%
Next 30 days · Sep 20, 2026
Known exploitationReported
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper access control in Adobe ColdFusion 2018u18, 2021u8, and 2023u2 and earlier allows remote attackers to reach restricted admin endpoints. IPFilterUtils.checkAdminAccess canonicalizes a crafted /segment/..CFIDE path without restoring its leading slash, so restricted-path prefix checks miss it while the servlet still resolves the endpoint. No authentication or user interaction is required; the bypass defeats IP allowlisting but does not itself authorize protected endpoint operations.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-38205
Published
Sep 14, 2023
Updated
Oct 21, 2025
Vendor
Adobe
Product
ColdFusion
Classifications
CWE-284, T1190
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 14, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 21, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <=cf2023U2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Adobe · ColdFusionversion=0 <=cf2023U2

Published CVSS scores

7.5AdobeCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsShadowserver observations through Sep 20, 2026. Gaps indicate unavailable data.
Sep 14, 2026Sep 20, 2026
View daily counts
Reporting dayUnique IPs
Sep 14, 20261
Sep 15, 2026Unavailable
Sep 16, 20261
Sep 17, 20261
Sep 18, 2026Unavailable
Sep 19, 2026Unavailable
Sep 20, 2026Unavailable
Latest reporting daySep 20, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationReported
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-284Improper Access Control
T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Reported exploitation

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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