Adobe ColdFusion is a popular web application development platform known for its quick development capabilities and server scripting environment. However, vulnerabilities can still emerge within the platform, potentially putting user data at risk. This lengthy read-post will guide you through the CVE-2023-29300 vulnerability affecting Adobe ColdFusion versions 2018u16 (and earlier), 2021u6 (and earlier), and 2023...330468 (and earlier). This vulnerability stems from a Deserialization of Untrusted Data issue and could potentially lead to arbitrary code execution. Even more troubling is that exploiting this vulnerability does not require any user interaction.

Original References

To get a comprehensive understanding of the CVE-2023-29300 vulnerability, visit the following links for official documentation:

1. Adobe Security Bulletin: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb23-58.html
2. NIST National Vulnerability Database: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-29300

Exploit Details

The root of this vulnerability is in the way Adobe ColdFusion deserializes untrusted data. Deserialization is the process of converting data structures or objects stored in a format like XML or JSON into a format that can be easily utilized (and executed) by a programming language. Improper deserialization can allow an attacker to supply specially-crafted data that, when deserialized, could lead to the execution of arbitrary code on the targeted system.

Code Snippet

With this vulnerability, an attacker could take advantage of an exposed Java RMI (Remote Method Invocation) service in ColdFusion. The following code snippet shows how an attacker could create a malicious Java object and send it to the vulnerable ColdFusion service.

import java.rmi.registry.LocateRegistry;
import java.rmi.registry.Registry;

public class Exploit {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try {
            Registry registry = LocateRegistry.getRegistry("TARGET_IP", 1099);
            String maliciousData = "MALICIOUS_DATA";
            registry.lookup(maliciousData);
        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

Replace "TARGET_IP" with the IP address of the vulnerable ColdFusion server and "MALICIOUS_DATA" with the specially-crafted data, designed to exploit the vulnerability.

Mitigation and Prevention

Adobe has released security updates to address the CVE-2023-29300 vulnerability. It is strongly recommended to update your ColdFusion installation to the latest version, as per the following:

1. For Adobe ColdFusion (2018 release), Update 17: https://www.adobe.com/go/coldfusion2018_updates
2. For Adobe ColdFusion (2021 release), Update 7: https://www.adobe.com/go/coldfusion2021_updates
3. For Adobe ColdFusion (2023 release) (Pre-Release), Update 1: https://www.adobe.com/go/coldfusion2023_updates

To ensure that your server remains secure, continually monitor updates from Adobe and apply them promptly, as well as follow best practices for securing your ColdFusion installation. Instructions for configuring your installation securely can be found in the Adobe ColdFusion Lockdown Guide: https://helpx.adobe.com/coldfusion/security.html

By staying well-informed about potential vulnerabilities and responding diligently to mitigate any security risks, you can protect your sensitive data and keep your web applications running smoothly.

Timeline

Published on: 07/12/2023 16:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 07/20/2023 14:22:00 UTC