# CVE-2023-38205: Adobe ColdFusion Improper Access Control Vulnerability

- Exploited (CISA KEV): yes, added 2023-07-20
- Published: 2023-09-14
- CVSS: 7.5 HIGH (v3.1)
- EPSS: 99.8% (100th percentile)
- CWE: CWE-284

Adobe ColdFusion versions 2018u18 (and earlier), 2021u8 (and earlier) and 2023u2 (and earlier) are affected by an Improper Access Control vulnerability that could result in a Security feature bypass. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to access the administration CFM and CFC endpoints. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.

## Edge WAF coverage (claimed by vendors, not measured)

| Vendor | Status | First rule | Days after publication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare | Before feed history | — | — |
| AWS | No public claim | — | — |
| Microsoft Azure | No public claim | — | — |
| Google Cloud | Before feed history | — | — |
| Fastly | Before feed history | — | — |
| F5 | Rule published | 2024-03-12 | 180 |
| Akamai | No public source | — | — |
| OWASP CRS | No public claim | — | — |

### F5

- 2024-03-12 · new · rule 200013073
  > Added: signature 200013073 "Adobe ColdFusion Access Control Bypass (3)" (Authentication/Authorization Attacks, risk High), systems: Macromedia ColdFusion. References: CVE-2023-38205.
  Source: https://docs.cloud.f5.com/docs-v2/platform/changelogs/security-details-changelog
- 2024-03-12 · new · rule 200013074
  > Added: signature 200013074 "Adobe ColdFusion Access Control Bypass (4)" (Authentication/Authorization Attacks, risk High), systems: Macromedia ColdFusion. References: CVE-2023-38205.
  Source: https://docs.cloud.f5.com/docs-v2/platform/changelogs/security-details-changelog

## Our test (measured)

- OWASP Core Rule Set 4.25.0, paranoia level 1, anomaly threshold 5, default CRS settings: passed (0 of 1 requests blocked), template CVE-2023-38205, 2026-11-02
- OWASP Core Rule Set 4.25.0, paranoia level 2, anomaly threshold 5, default CRS settings: passed (0 of 1 requests blocked), template CVE-2023-38205, 2026-11-02

"No public claim" means no vendor statement names this CVE; "Before feed history" means the CVE is older than the vendor feed. In both cases generic rules may still block it.

HTML: https://cve.vigilbase.com/cve/CVE-2023-38205 · JSON: https://cve.vigilbase.com/api/v1/cves/CVE-2023-38205