Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-29301 affects Adobe ColdFusion and can let an unauthenticated remote attacker bypass a security control related to excessive authentication attempts. The stated impact is confidentiality loss. Systems running the listed ColdFusion versions should be treated as high priority, especially if reachable from the internet.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority exposure management item, not a confirmed breach signal. The main business risk is unauthorized confidentiality impact against affected ColdFusion deployments, with urgency highest for internet-facing systems.
Technical view
Adobe ColdFusion 2018 Update 16 and earlier, 2021 Update 6 and earlier, and 2023.0.0.330468 and earlier are affected by CWE-307. CVSS 3.1 is 7.5: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, high confidentiality impact, no integrity or availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely where affected Adobe ColdFusion servers remain deployed, particularly public-facing or remotely reachable authentication and administration surfaces. The source bundle does not identify specific configurations beyond the affected versions.
Exploitation context
The CVE data says exploitation requires no user interaction and no privileges. The bundle does not cite CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence, so active exploitation should not be assumed from these sources alone.
Researcher notes
Evidence is strong for affected versions, CVSS, CWE, and impact. Evidence is incomplete for exploit activity and specific fix details because the supplied bundle only cites the Adobe advisory, not its full remediation content.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory all Adobe ColdFusion deployments and record exact version and update level.
- Review Adobe APSB23-40 for vendor-approved remediation and fixed update guidance.
- Prioritize internet-facing ColdFusion systems before internal-only systems.
- Restrict administrative and authentication interfaces where business requirements allow.
- Monitor authentication-related logs for unusual repeated attempts or bypass indicators.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether any ColdFusion instance matches the affected versions listed in the CVE.
- Verify externally reachable ColdFusion endpoints through asset inventory and exposure management tools.
- Check whether vendor guidance from APSB23-40 has been applied successfully.
- Review access and authentication logs for suspicious activity before and after remediation.
- Document any systems that cannot be updated and their compensating controls.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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-307: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. 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 lookupCVE-2023-29301 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
- High
- CVSS
- 7.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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.
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:N/A:N3.93.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb23-40.htmlCVE reference · vendor-advisory
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.
Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts
Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.