CVE Intelligence
Critical File handling

CVE-2025-54261 — ColdFusion | Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (CWE-22)

ColdFusion versions 2025.3, 2023.15, 2021.21 and earlier are affected by an Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability that could lead to arbitrary code execution by an attacker. The victim must have optional configurations enabled. Scope is changed.

Published Sep 9, 2025 · Updated Oct 18, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: adobe

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 24% (30-day exploitation probability)+15
  • Technical severity (critical)+10
  • Automatable exploitation (SSVC)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
23.98%
ahead of 98% of scored CVEs · Oct 19, 2026
Affects
Adobe
Coldfusion
CVSS base
10.0
Critical · 4 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
Yes
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Adobe Coldfusion).
  2. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
  3. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  4. EPSS ahead of 98% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
  5. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (file handling), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Adobe Coldfusion version 2023-update4version 2023version 2023-update1version 2023-update10version 2023-update11version 2023-update12version 2023-update13version 2023-update14
and 34 more version 2023-update15version 2023-update2version 2023-update3version 2021-update9version 2023-update5version 2023-update6version 2023-update7version 2023-update8version 2023-update9version 2025version 2025-update1version 2025-update2version 2025-update3version 2021-update19version 2021-update1version 2021-update10version 2021-update11version 2021-update12version 2021-update13version 2021-update14version 2021-update15version 2021-update16version 2021-update17version 2021-update18version 2021version 2021-update2version 2021-update20version 2021-update21version 2021-update3version 2021-update4version 2021-update5version 2021-update6version 2021-update7version 2021-update8
Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Adobe Coldfusion ≤ 2021.21 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
10.0 CVSS 3.1 Critical 3.9 6.0 psirt@adobe.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
10.0 CVSS 3.1 Critical 3.9 6.0 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
10.0 CVSS 3.1 Critical — — adobe via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
9.0 CVSS 3.1 Critical — — GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)
Sources assign different scores within the same severity band. For prioritization we use 10.0 (psirt@adobe.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database) as a conservative provisional reference — not a definitive official score.

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-22 · Path Traversal

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 18, 2026 → Oct 19, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 23.98%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Monitor file creation in web directories and paths with traversal sequences (../).
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSfile integrity (FIM)endpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · adobe/coldfusion
    Oct 18, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 18, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 18, 2026
  • Affected products added · adobe/coldfusion
    Oct 18, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 10.0
    Oct 18, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Analyzed
    Oct 18, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 18, 2026 · Alertas do Telegram
  • 2025
  • CVE published
    Sep 9, 2025 · adobe

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 2× References added · Oct 18, 2026 – Oct 18, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 18, 2026 – Oct 18, 2026

References

3 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Adobe
every CVE for this vendor
File handling
same class
CWE-22
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-75994 ColdFusion | Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) 7d
  • CVE-2026-76001 ColdFusion | Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) (CWE-918) 7d
  • CVE-2026-75748 ColdFusion | Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) (CWE-918) 7d
  • CVE-2026-75995 ColdFusion | Improper Input Validation (CWE-20) 7d
  • CVE-2026-75996 ColdFusion | Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (CWE-400) 7d
  • CVE-2026-71385 ColdFusion | Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) 7d

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2025-54261 is "ColdFusion | Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (CWE-22)", rated Critical. It affects Coldfusion (Adobe); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 10.0 describes technical severity. EPSS 23.98% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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