CVE-2023-38204 | Bypass APSB23-41 (CVE-2023-38203) - Pre-Auth RCE ColdFusion 2021 Update 8

Adobe ColdFusion versions 2018u18 (and earlier), 2021u8 (and earlier) and 2023u2 (and earlier) are affected by a Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability that could result in Arbitrary code execution. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.

Published: 2023-09-14 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-38204 is rated High Risk (68.9/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 65.49%, 99th percentile). EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-38204

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 72.70% 65.49% -7.22%
2 2026-06-09 71.37% 72.70% +1.33%
3 2026-05-27 — 71.37% —

Full EPSS history (46 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-38204

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]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-38204

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-38204

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:update1:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:update10:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:update11:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:update12:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:update13:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:update14:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:update15:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:update16:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:update18:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:update2:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:update3:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:update4:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:update5:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:update6:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:update7:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:update8:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2018 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2018:update9:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2021 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2021:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2021 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2021:update1:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2021 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2021:update2:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2021 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2021:update3:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2021 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2021:update4:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2021 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2021:update5:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2021 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2021:update6:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2021 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2021:update7:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2021 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2021:update8:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2023 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2023:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2023 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2023:update1:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe coldfusion 2023 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:coldfusion:2023:update2:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-38204

cvelogic Threat Intelligence