CVE-2026-106615

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-106615 is an Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) vulnerability in Adobe ColdFusion that allows a low-privileged, locally-positioned attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. Because the flaw bypasses intended authorization checks without requiring user interaction, a successful exploit results in full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CVSS 8.8, scope changed). No patch, public proof-of-concept, or Nuclei template currently exists, and the vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV, leaving affected ColdFusion deployments exposed until a vendor fix is released.

Technical Analysis

The vulnerability is classified under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization. This weakness class occurs when an application performs an authorization check but does so incorrectly — for example, validating the wrong principal, checking a permission at the wrong layer, or allowing a lower-privileged actor to reach a protected operation. In ColdFusion, authorization logic governs access to administrative functions, component invocations, and remote interfaces. When this check is incorrectly enforced, a low-privileged user who can reach the affected code path can invoke functionality that should be reserved for a higher-privileged context.

The attack surface is local (AV:L) per the CVSS vector, meaning the attacker must have some level of local access or a local vector to trigger the flaw — this is consistent with scenarios where a constrained user or a locally-executing process reaches the vulnerable authorization boundary. The PR:L subscore confirms that only low privileges are required; the attacker does not need administrative rights to begin the chain. UI:N indicates no victim interaction is necessary, so exploitation is fully attacker-driven. The S:C (scope changed) rating is significant: successful exploitation means the vulnerable component's security authority is exceeded, and code executes in a context that impacts resources beyond the original component's privilege boundary — here, arbitrary code in the context of the current user.

The NVD description does not disclose specific affected functions, classes, endpoints, or parameters. No code-level detail (such as a named CFML tag, CFC method, or administrative API path) is available from the provided data. Accordingly, the precise authorization bypass mechanism cannot be described beyond its class: an incorrect authorization decision that permits an under-privileged actor to trigger code execution. Any finer implementation detail would be speculation and is deliberately omitted.

Because no affected version range and no OSV package mapping were supplied, the exact ColdFusion versions in scope are unknown. Administrators should assume all supported ColdFusion releases carry risk until Adobe publishes an advisory.

Exploitation Scenarios

No public proof-of-concept exists for CVE-2026-106615. The following attack chain is described strictly at the vulnerability-class level; no function names, endpoints, or parameters are asserted because none are present in the provided description.

1. Reconnaissance / target identification. The attacker gains a low-privileged foothold or local presence on a host running ColdFusion. Because the vector is local, the attacker first identifies an accessible, low-privilege context from which the ColdFusion service or application code path can be reached. Externally, an adversary may enumerate ColdFusion deployments by fingerprinting the product's web presence (see Shodan dorks above), but the CVSS vector indicates the triggering access is local rather than remote.

2. Triggering the incorrect authorization flaw. The attacker interacts with the affected functionality in a way that should be denied by an authorization check. Due to the incorrect authorization logic (CWE-863), the check fails to block the low-privileged actor, and the protected operation proceeds. No user interaction from a legitimate administrator or victim is required (UI:N).

3. Payload / execution method. Following the authorization bypass, the attacker abuses the now-accessible functionality to execute arbitrary code. At the vulnerability-class level, an incorrect authorization flaw permitting code execution typically means the bypassed check guards an operation capable of invoking executable logic. The description does not specify the exact execution primitive, so no specific payload mechanism is claimed here.

4. Post-exploitation impact. With code executing in the context of the current user and scope changed, the attacker can read, modify, or destroy data and further escalate or pivot within the environment commensurate with that user's permissions and the ColdFusion service context. The changed scope means the impact extends beyond the component originally subject to the failed check.

Impact Assessment

Successful exploitation yields high impact across all three CVSS security objectives: Confidentiality High, Integrity High, and Availability High. The base score of 8.8 reflects a serious, high-severity defect. The Privileges Required: Low and User Interaction: None combination means the barrier to exploitation is relatively low once local access is obtained, and the Scope: Changed metric indicates the compromise crosses a trust boundary, amplifying organizational risk.

Business impact includes potential unauthorized access to application data and secrets processed by ColdFusion, integrity compromise of hosted applications, and denial of service through destructive code execution. ColdFusion is frequently deployed as a middleware platform hosting line-of-business and public-facing applications, so a single compromised instance can expose multiple dependent applications and their data stores. Blast radius depends on the permissions of the current user context and the ColdFusion service account; a service account with broad filesystem or database rights magnifies the effect. Because no patch exists, every unmitigated instance is a candidate target, and the lack of a public PoC only modestly reduces risk — the underlying class is well understood and weaponizable.

Detection Guidance

Sigma Rule

title: Suspicious ColdFusion Process Spawning Child Process
id: 7c1e9a44-2026-4b10-9f3e-coldfusion-cve106615
status: experimental
description: Detects ColdFusion spawning child processes consistent with post-exploitation code execution via an incorrect authorization flaw (CVE-2026-106615).
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection_parent:
    ParentImage|endswith:
      - '\jrun.exe'
      - '\coldfusion.exe'
      - '\httpd.exe'
  selection_child:
    Image|endswith:
      - '\cmd.exe'
      - '\powershell.exe'
      - '\wscript.exe'
      - '\cscript.exe'
      - '\bash.exe'
      - '\sh'
  condition: selection_parent and selection_child
falsepositives:
  - Legitimate administrative scripts and ColdFusion maintenance tasks
level: high
tags:
  - attack.t1068
  - cve.2026.106615

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2026_106615_ColdFusion_Code_Exec_Indicators
{
    meta:
        description = "Detects suspicious ColdFusion artifacts potentially related to CVE-2026-106615 code execution"
        author = "Threat Intelligence"
        date = "2026-01-01"
        reference = "CVE-2026-106615"
        severity = "high"

    strings:
        $cf1 = "coldfusion" ascii nocase
        $exec1 = "Runtime.getRuntime().exec" ascii
        $exec2 = "ProcessBuilder" ascii
        $cfexec = "createObject" ascii nocase

    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5A4D or uint32(0) == 0x464C457F
        and $cf1
        and any of ($exec*)
}

Suricata IDS Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2026-106615 ColdFusion Incorrect Authorization Exploitation Attempt"; flow:established,to_server; http.uri; content:"/CFIDE/"; http.header; content:"ColdFusion"; classtype:attempted-admin; sid:2026106615; rev:1; reference:cve,2026-106615; metadata:affected_product Adobe_ColdFusion;)

Elastic Detection

process where event.type == "start" and
  process.parent.name in ("jrun.exe", "coldfusion.exe", "httpd.exe") and
  process.name in ("cmd.exe", "powershell.exe", "wscript.exe", "cscript.exe", "sh", "bash")

Splunk SPL Query

index=main (source="*coldfusion*" OR source="*cfusion*")
| search ("incorrect authorization" OR "access denied" OR "not authorized" OR "Runtime.getRuntime" OR "exec")
| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by host, user, source, message
| where count > 0
| sort - count

Wazuh OSSEC Rule

<group name="coldfusion,cve-2026-106615,">
  <rule id="1066151" level="12">
    <decoded_as>json</decoded_as>
    <field name="parent.process.name">coldfusion</field>
    <field name="process.name">cmd.exe|powershell.exe|wscript.exe|sh|bash</field>
    <description>CVE-2026-106615: Possible ColdFusion code execution via incorrect authorization - suspicious child process spawned</description>
    <mitre>
      <id>T1068</id>
    </mitre>
  </rule>
</group>

Mitigation & Patch Guidance

Patch confidence: 0/4 (UNPATCHED — no patch evidence from any tracked source).

1. Immediate mitigations.

• Restrict and audit local access to ColdFusion hosts, since the vector is local (AV:L) and requires only low privileges (PR:L). Enforce least privilege on local accounts and service accounts.
• Run the ColdFusion service under a dedicated, minimally-privileged service account with tightly scoped filesystem and database rights to limit the blast radius of arbitrary code execution.
• Segment ColdFusion deployments from sensitive back-end systems and apply network egress controls to constrain post-exploitation activity.
• Closely monitor for child processes spawned by ColdFusion (see Detection Guidance) and alert on anomalous authorization failures in ColdFusion logs.

2. Patch / upgrade steps.

• No patch or fixed version is currently available. Monitor Adobe's official security advisories (helpx.adobe.com/security) for a ColdFusion bulletin addressing CVE-2026-106615, and apply the vendor fix immediately upon release.
• Until a fix exists, maintain compensating controls and version/patch tracking for all ColdFusion instances.

3. Long-term hardening.

• Institute a vulnerability management workflow for ColdFusion that tracks Adobe advisories and CISA KEV additions continuously.
• Harden authorization logic review practices: enforce server-side authorization checks at every protected operation and validate principal, role, and scope explicitly (aligning with CWE-863 guidance).
• Disable or remove unused ColdFusion administrative and remote interfaces to reduce attack surface, and enforce strong authentication with MFA where administrative functionality is exposed.
• Conduct periodic security testing focused on authorization bypass and privilege boundary violations.

References

• NVD — CVE-2026-106615: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-106615
• MITRE CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/863.html
• Adobe ColdFusion Security Advisories: https://helpx.adobe.com/security.html
• CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog (CVE-2026-106615 not currently listed)
• FIRST EPSS: https://www.first.org/epss (not yet scored for this CVE)

No threat actor campaigns or exploit-in-the-wild evidence have been identified for CVE-2026-106615 at the time of this report.