CVE-2026-106612

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-106612 is a critical Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) vulnerability in Adobe ColdFusion that permits a low-privileged attacker to execute arbitrary code remotely without user interaction. The flaw carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.9, reflecting network exploitable attack vectors, low attack complexity, and a scope change that amplifies the blast radius beyond the vulnerable component. At the time of writing, no patch, public proof-of-concept, or active exploitation evidence is available, leaving organizations running affected ColdFusion deployments exposed to potential full host compromise by authenticated low-privilege users.

Technical Analysis

The vulnerability is classified under CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization), indicating that the application fails to properly validate or enforce authorization checks when a low-privileged user attempts to access functionality that should be restricted to higher-privileged roles. In the context of ColdFusion, this typically manifests when authorization boundaries between user roles are insufficiently enforced, allowing a user with minimal privileges to invoke functionality reserved for administrators or trusted components.

The CVSS vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H encodes several critical characteristics:

• Attack Vector (N — Network): Exploitation is possible remotely over the network, meaning the attacker does not require local access to the target host.
• Attack Complexity (L — Low): No specialized conditions, race conditions, or elevated knowledge are needed beyond normal access to the application.
• Privileges Required (L — Low): The attacker must possess a valid but low-privileged account. This significantly narrows the threat actor profile to authenticated users, compromised low-privilege credentials, or self-registered accounts.
• User Interaction (N — None): No victim action, such as clicking a link or opening a file, is required. Exploitation is fully automated after authentication.
• Scope (C — Changed): The impact extends beyond the authorization boundary of the vulnerable component itself. A successful exploit compromises resources managed by other security authorities, meaning the attacker can affect components or data outside ColdFusion's intended authorization sphere.
• Confidentiality (H — High): Total loss of confidentiality is possible, including access to sensitive data, credentials, and application secrets.
• Integrity (H — High): Total loss of integrity, allowing modification of application data, configuration, or deployment artifacts.
• Availability (H — High): Total loss of availability, potentially resulting in denial of service or complete loss of application functionality.

The combination of low privileges required and a scope change is particularly significant. It suggests that the authorization check that fails is not merely a per-page or per-function gate within ColdFusion, but rather a trust boundary that, once bypassed, grants access to the underlying operating system or to resources outside the ColdFusion process context. This aligns with the NVD description's statement that exploitation "could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user" and "Scope is changed."

Because the authorization logic is flawed rather than the memory safety of the application, exploitation does not require a memory corruption primitive. The attacker leverages legitimate application functionality that is improperly gated, effectively escalating privileges from a low-privileged ColdFusion user to code execution. The precise affected component, endpoint, or API surface is not specified in the CVE data. No CNA title, affected version range, or vendor advisory was provided, and no public exploit code or Nuclei template currently exists. As such, specific implementation details — such as which ColdFusion service, tag, or function is implicated — cannot be asserted and are intentionally omitted to avoid speculation.

Exploitation Scenarios

Because no public PoC is available, the following attack chain is inferred at the vulnerability-class level from the CWE-863 classification and the CVSS vector. No specific function names, endpoints, or parameters are asserted beyond those stated in the CVE data.

1. Reconnaissance and target identification. An attacker identifies a reachable ColdFusion instance, for example via Shodan or internal network scanning, and confirms that it exposes functionality accessible to low-privileged users.

2. Authentication as a low-privileged user. The attacker authenticates with a valid low-privileged account. This could be obtained through credential stuffing, default credentials, self-registration, or a previously compromised user account. This step satisfies the PR:L prerequisite in the CVSS vector.

3. Triggering the authorization flaw. The attacker sends a crafted request to a ColdFusion component that should enforce an administrative or privileged authorization check but does not. Per CWE-863, the application incorrectly authorizes the request based on the low-privileged user's session, permitting access to functionality that is not intended for that role. No user interaction is required (UI:N), and the request can be delivered directly over the network (AV:N) with low complexity (AC:L).

4. Payload and execution. Because the outcome is arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user, the attacker leverages the improperly authorized functionality to execute code under the security context of the ColdFusion service account. The NVD description confirms this outcome but does not specify the exact execution primitive; the exploitation method should be understood at the vulnerability-class level as a consequence of the broken authorization boundary.

5. Post-exploitation impact. The scope change (S:C) implies the attacker can move beyond the immediate vulnerable component. With high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact, the attacker could read sensitive application data and secrets, alter application or configuration state, and disrupt service availability. Full arbitrary code execution in the context of the service user may facilitate further lateral movement or persistence, depending on the privileges of that account.

No exploit-in-the-wild evidence, threat actor campaign, or public exploit code has been observed for this CVE. Organizations should treat the above as a conservative, class-level projection rather than a confirmed exploit chain.

Impact Assessment

CVE-2026-106612 represents a critical risk to any organization exposing Adobe ColdFusion to network-accessible users, particularly those with multi-tenant or role-differentiated deployments where low-privileged accounts are expected. The CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.9 places this in the Critical severity band.

The scope change (S:C) is the most consequential factor in the impact assessment. It means the vulnerability's effects are not contained to the ColdFusion application's own authorization domain; exploitation can compromise resources managed by other security authorities within the same environment. Combined with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts, a successful exploit can result in complete loss of data confidentiality, unauthorized modification of application and system state, and full denial of service.

From a business perspective, consequences may include:

• Unauthorized access to sensitive business data, customer records, or intellectual property stored or processed by ColdFusion applications.
• Full compromise of the ColdFusion service account, enabling further lateral movement within the network.
• Service disruption affecting business-critical web applications and integrations.
• Regulatory and compliance exposure where confidentiality and integrity of regulated data are compromised.

The primary constraint on exploitation is the PR:L requirement — the attacker needs a valid low-privileged account. This reduces the population of potential opportunistic attackers but does not eliminate the risk, particularly for internet-facing ColdFusion instances with self-registration or weak account provisioning controls. Affected version ranges and package identifiers were not provided in the CVE data, so precise blast radius per version cannot be determined; organizations must inventory all ColdFusion deployments and treat any unpatched instance as potentially affected.

Detection Guidance

Sigma Rule

title: Potential ColdFusion Incorrect Authorization Exploitation (CVE-2026-106612)
id: 7f3c9a1e-4b2d-4e8a-9c1f-6d5a2b8e0f13
status: experimental
description: Detects requests to ColdFusion administrative or restricted endpoints from low-privileged or unauthenticated sessions, indicative of CWE-863 authorization bypass attempts.
references:
  - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-106612
author: valtersit.com
date: 2026/01/01
tags:
  - attack.t1190
  - attack.privilege_escalation
logsource:
  category: webserver
  product: coldfusion
detection:
  selection_paths:
    - cs-uri-stem|contains:
        - '/CFIDE/administrator'
        - '/CFIDE/componentutils'
        - '/CFIDE/services'
        - '/cfide/'
  selection_success:
    sc-status:
      - 200
      - 201
      - 202
  selection_anon_or_lowpriv:
    cs-username|contains:
      - ''
      - 'guest'
      - 'user'
  condition: selection_paths and selection_success and selection_anon_or_lowpriv
fields:
  - c-ip
  - cs-username
  - cs-uri-stem
  - cs-method
  - sc-status
falsepositives:
  - Legitimate administrative activity from management accounts
  - Automated configuration tooling
level: high

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2026_106612_ColdFusion_Authz_Bypass
{
    meta:
        description = "Detects suspicious ColdFusion artifacts consistent with CWE-863 incorrect authorization exploitation attempts (CVE-2026-106612)"
        author = "valtersit.com"
        date = "2026-01-01"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-106612"
        severity = "critical"

    strings:
        $cf1 = "CFIDE" ascii wide nocase
        $cf2 = "administrator" ascii wide nocase
        $auth1 = "authorization" ascii wide nocase
        $auth2 = "isUserInRole" ascii wide nocase
        $auth3 = "isUserInAnyRole" ascii wide nocase
        $susp1 = "/CFIDE/componentutils" ascii wide nocase
        $susp2 = "/CFIDE/services" ascii wide nocase

    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x3C3F or uint16(0) == 0x3C25 or
        (
            any of ($cf1, $cf2) and
            any of ($auth1, $auth2, $auth3, $susp1, $susp2)
        )
}

Suricata IDS Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2026-106612 Potential ColdFusion Incorrect Authorization Exploitation Attempt"; flow:established,to_server; http.method; content:"GET"; http.uri; content:"/CFIDE/"; nocase; http.uri; content:"administrator"; nocase; http.stat_code; content:"200"; reference:cve,CVE-2026-106612; reference:url,nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-106612; classtype:attempted-admin; sid:2026106612; rev:1;)

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2026-106612 ColdFusion Restricted CFIDE Endpoint Access"; flow:established,to_server; http.uri; content:"/CFIDE/componentutils"; nocase; http.stat_code; content:"200"; reference:cve,CVE-2026-106612; classtype:attempted-admin; sid:2026106613; rev:1;)

Elastic Detection

sequence by source.ip with maxspan=30s
  [http where http.response.status_code == 200 and
     (url.path : "/CFIDE/administrator*" or url.path : "/CFIDE/componentutils*"
      or url.path : "/CFIDE/services*")]
  [http where http.response.status_code == 200 and
     (url.path : "/CFIDE/*" and http.request.method in ("POST", "PUT", "DELETE"))]

Splunk SPL Query

index=web sourcetype=coldfusion_access
| eval uri=lower(cs_uri_stem)
| where like(uri, "%/cfide/administrator%") OR like(uri, "%/cfide/componentutils%") OR like(uri, "%/cfide/services%")
| where sc_status IN (200, 201, 202)
| stats count min(_time) as first_seen max(_time) as last_seen values(cs_uri_stem) as requested_paths values(sc_status) as status_codes values(cs_method) as methods by src_ip, cs_username
| where count > 0
| sort - count

Wazuh OSSEC Rule

<group name="coldfusion,web,cve-2026-106612,">
  <rule id="1066120" level="12">
    <decoded_as>web-accesslog</decoded_as>
    <description>CVE-2026-106612 - Potential ColdFusion incorrect authorization exploitation attempt via CFIDE administrator interface</description>
    <url>^.*/CFIDE/administrator.*$</url>
    <options>i</options>
    <action>return</action>
    <match>200</match>
    <group>cve-2026-106612,attempted_admin,</group>
  </rule>

  <rule id="1066121" level="12">
    <decoded_as>web-accesslog</decoded_as>
    <description>CVE-2026-106612 - Potential ColdFusion incorrect authorization exploitation attempt via CFIDE componentutils or services</description>
    <url>^.*/CFIDE/(componentutils|services).*$</url>
    <options>i</options>
    <match>200</match>
    <group>cve-2026-106612,attempted_admin,</group>
  </rule>
</group>

Mitigation & Patch Guidance

Patch confidence: 0/4 — UNPATCHED. No patch evidence has been identified from any tracked source. Affected version ranges and vendor fix references are not available at this time.

1) Immediate mitigations:

• Restrict network access to ColdFusion administrative and CFIDE endpoints using firewall rules, reverse proxy ACLs, or WAF policies. Where possible, bind administrative interfaces to localhost or trusted management networks only.
• Enforce strong authentication and least-privilege role design. Audit all low-privileged accounts, remove unused or default accounts, and disable self-registration for internet-facing ColdFusion deployments.
• Enable comprehensive audit logging for authorization decisions and monitor for low-privileged sessions accessing administrative or restricted functionality. Deploy the detection rules provided above.
• Isolate the ColdFusion service account as tightly as possible. Run ColdFusion under a dedicated, non-privileged account with no interactive logon rights and minimal filesystem and network permissions to reduce post-exploitation impact given the scope change.
• Apply virtual patching or custom request filtering at the WAF layer to block unauthorized access to administrative endpoints.

2) Patch/upgrade steps:

• No vendor patch is currently identified. Monitor Adobe's official ColdFusion security advisories and the NVD entry for CVE-2026-106612 for updates.
• Once a fixed version is released, validate it against your deployment matrix, test in a staging environment, and upgrade without delay.
• Maintain an inventory of all ColdFusion instances, including versions and exposure, so that patching can be applied comprehensively when a fix is available.

3) Long-term hardening:

• Segment ColdFusion application servers from sensitive internal networks and enforce egress filtering to limit post-exploitation movement.
• Adopt a role-based access control (RBAC) model with centralized identity management and multifactor authentication for all accounts, especially any account with access to administrative functionality.
• Regularly review authorization logic and conduct code review or penetration testing focused on trust boundary enforcement.
• Implement robust monitoring and alerting for anomalous use of the ColdFusion service account, unexpected child processes, and unusual outbound connections.
• Subscribe to vendor and CISA threat intelligence feeds to receive early notification of newly released patches or active exploitation.

References

• NVD — CVE-2026-106612: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-106612
• MITRE CWE-863 — Incorrect Authorization: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/863.html
• MITRE ATT&CK T1190 — Exploit Public-Facing Application: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1190/
• Adobe ColdFusion Security Advisories (monitor for patch release): https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion.html
• FIRST EPSS (not yet scored for this CVE): https://www.first.org/epss/

No threat actor campaigns, public proof-of-concept, or exploit-in-the-wild evidence have been identified for CVE-2026-106612 at the time of this report. CISA KEV status: not listed.