Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a critical Adobe ColdFusion remote code execution issue. An attacker can potentially run code on an affected server without logging in or tricking a user. CISA lists it in the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, so treat exposure as urgent and real-world, not theoretical.
Executive priority
Highest priority. This is unauthenticated remote code execution on a server platform and is listed by CISA as known exploited. Fund emergency patching, exposure reduction, and post-remediation verification.
Technical view
CVE-2023-26359 is a CWE-502 deserialization of untrusted data flaw in Adobe ColdFusion 2018 Update 15 and earlier, and 2021 Update 5 and earlier. CVSS is 9.8: network reachable, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Organizations running Adobe ColdFusion 2018 Update 15 or earlier, or 2021 Update 5 or earlier, are exposed. Risk is highest where affected ColdFusion services are reachable over a network or internet-facing.
Exploitation context
CISA KEV inclusion supports known exploitation in the wild. The provided sources do not describe exploit campaigns, affected sectors, initial access patterns, or exploit volume, so those details should not be inferred.
Researcher notes
The bundle supports RCE via unsafe deserialization, but does not identify a specific endpoint, payload, or component path. Validate by version and exposure rather than relying on exploit signatures alone.
Mitigation direction
- Apply Adobe APSB23-25 update guidance for affected ColdFusion versions.
- Prioritize internet-facing and business-critical ColdFusion servers first.
- Restrict network access to ColdFusion services while remediation is pending.
- Check Adobe guidance for any required post-update hardening steps.
- Retire or isolate unsupported ColdFusion deployments.
Validation and detection
- Inventory all Adobe ColdFusion servers and their installed update levels.
- Compare versions against ColdFusion 2018 Update 15 and earlier, and 2021 Update 5 and earlier.
- Confirm remediation follows Adobe APSB23-25 guidance.
- Review exposure for any network-reachable affected ColdFusion services.
- Review logs and incident records for suspicious activity around affected systems.
Public sources used
Michael Williams reviewed this cited source version on .
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-502: Code execution behavior lookup
Code execution and unsafe deserialization weaknesses often justify reviewing execution behavior and process telemetry. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-26359 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CISA KEV status
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H3.95.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.8CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb23-25.htmlCVE reference
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-26359CVE reference · government-resource
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Deserialization of Untrusted Data represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.