CVE-2018-15961

Exp

Adobe ColdFusion versions July 12 release (2018.0.0.310739), Update 6 and earlier, and Update 14 and earlier have an unrestricted file upload vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.

Published: 2018-09-25 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2018-15961 is rated Critical Active Threat (100/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 99.95%, 100th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2021-11-03) affecting Adobe / ColdFusion. a weakness (CWE-434) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. EPSS rose +5.53% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2018-15961

Name: Adobe ColdFusion Unrestricted File Upload Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2021-11-03

Action due: 2022-05-03

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2018-15961

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
45979 exploit_db edb 2018-12-11 Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2018-15961

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 94.42% 99.95% +5.53%
2 2025-11-21 94.35% 94.42% +0.07%
3 2025-11-18 — 94.35% —

Full EPSS history (14 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2018-15961

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 [email protected]
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
10.0 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 10.0 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2018-15961

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-15961

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
adobe coldfusion 11.0 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:11.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 11.0 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:11.0:update1:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 11.0 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:11.0:update10:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 11.0 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:11.0:update11:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 11.0 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:11.0:update12:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 11.0 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:11.0:update13:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 11.0 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:11.0:update14:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 11.0 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:11.0:update2:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 11.0 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:11.0:update3:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 11.0 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:11.0:update4:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 11.0 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:11.0:update5:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 11.0 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:11.0:update6:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 11.0 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:11.0:update7:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 11.0 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:11.0:update8:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 11.0 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:11.0:update9:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2016 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2016:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2016 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2016:update1:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2016 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2016:update2:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2016 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2016:update3:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2016 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2016:update4:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2016 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2016:update5:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2016 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2016:update6:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:-:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2018-15961

URL Tags
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105314 Broken Link Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1041621 Broken Link Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb18-33.html Vendor Advisory
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45979/ Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2018-15961 Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
cvelogic Threat Intelligence