CISA adds Adobe ColdFusion flaw to KEV
CISA added an actively exploited Adobe ColdFusion path traversal vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, directing federal agencies to remediate quickly.
Sourcecisa.gov — open the original
What to check
- Applies to
- The 1 CVE named below. Whether you run an affected version is not assessed: check the versions the source lists.
- Exploitation
- CISA lists CVE-2026-48282 as exploited in the wild.
CISA has added CVE-2026-48282, a path traversal vulnerability in Adobe ColdFusion, to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog after confirming evidence of active exploitation in the wild. Path traversal flaws remain a common vector for attackers to access sensitive files or achieve remote code execution on affected systems, making them a persistent risk for organizations running exposed ColdFusion instances.
Under Binding Operational Directive (BOD 26-04), Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies are required to prioritize remediation of vulnerabilities in the KEV Catalog, particularly those that could grant an attacker total control of a publicly exposed asset. The directive also requires agencies to check whether systems were compromised prior to patching. While BOD 26-04 legally binds only FCEB agencies, CISA recommends all organizations adopt similar risk-based patching practices for KEV-listed vulnerabilities to reduce exposure to known exploitation.
Mentioned in this report
Detection guidance
ColdFusion Java Process Spawning Command Shell
A behavioural hunt for the technique in general, not a signature for the CVEs this report names.
Detects cmd.exe, powershell.exe, or bash spawned by the ColdFusion Java process (coldfusion.exe/java.exe), consistent with post-exploitation of a path traversal/RCE vulnerability such as CVE-2026-48282. Auto-generated starting point — validate and tune in your environment before deploying. IOC matches can false-positive on shared infrastructure and decay as adversary infrastructure rotates.
title: Suspicious Child Process from ColdFusion Java Service
logsource:
category: process_creation
product: windows
detection:
selection_parent:
ParentImage|endswith:
- \coldfusion.exe
- \java.exe
- \jrun.exe
selection_child:
Image|endswith:
- \cmd.exe
- \powershell.exe
- \pwsh.exe
- \wscript.exe
- \cscript.exe
- \bitsadmin.exe
- \certutil.exe
condition: selection_parent and selection_child
falsepositives:
- Legitimate ColdFusion administrative scripts that invoke OS commands (rare, should
be baselined)
- Scheduled maintenance tasks configured to run via ColdFusion scheduler
level: high
tags:
- attack.t1190
- attack.execution
id: 3102f408-3919-5359-a750-274e483802a5
status: experimental
author: Vorant
Web Shell File Write by ColdFusion Process in Webroot
A behavioural hunt for the technique in general, not a signature for the CVEs this report names.
Detects creation of script files (jsp, cfm, cfc, jspx) by the ColdFusion process outside of expected deployment activity, indicating possible web shell drop following exploitation of a path traversal vulnerability. Auto-generated starting point — validate and tune in your environment before deploying. IOC matches can false-positive on shared infrastructure and decay as adversary infrastructure rotates.
title: Suspicious Script File Written by ColdFusion Process
logsource:
category: file_event
product: windows
detection:
selection:
Image|endswith:
- \coldfusion.exe
- \java.exe
- \jrun.exe
TargetFilename|endswith:
- .jsp
- .jspx
- .cfm
- .cfc
filter:
TargetFilename|contains:
- \wwwroot\CFIDE\administrator\
- \cfusion\lib\
condition: selection and not filter
falsepositives:
- Legitimate ColdFusion application deployment or developer publishing new .cfm/.cfc
pages
- Automated build/CI pipelines that push CFML application code to the webroot
level: medium
tags:
- attack.t1505.003
- attack.persistence
id: 21be7d3e-68b4-500e-9cf1-1c7b127c74a4
status: experimental
author: Vorant
Path Traversal Sequence in Web Request to ColdFusion Endpoint
A behavioural hunt for the technique in general, not a signature for the CVEs this report names.
Detects HTTP requests containing directory traversal sequences (../ or encoded equivalents) targeting ColdFusion administrative or CFIDE paths, indicative of exploitation attempts against path traversal vulnerabilities like CVE-2026-48282. Auto-generated starting point — validate and tune in your environment before deploying. IOC matches can false-positive on shared infrastructure and decay as adversary infrastructure rotates.
title: Path Traversal Pattern Targeting ColdFusion Endpoints
logsource:
category: webserver
detection:
selection_path:
cs-uri-query|contains:
- ../
- ..%2f
- ..%5c
- '%2e%2e/'
- '%2e%2e%2f'
selection_target:
cs-uri-stem|contains:
- /CFIDE/
- /cf_scripts/
- /coldfusion/
condition: selection_path and selection_target
falsepositives:
- Vulnerability scanners or penetration testing tools probing ColdFusion instances
as part of authorized assessments
- Legacy applications passing relative file paths in query parameters
level: medium
tags:
- attack.t1190
- attack.initial-access
id: 4442bc89-0297-59a7-8fa6-64338cc7ce43
status: experimental
author: Vorant
Behavioural rules are generated from public reporting — validate in your environment before deploying.
Source reporting: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2026/07/07/cisa-adds-one-known-exploited-vulnerability-catalog
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