CVE-2025-61813: 
Adobe ColdFusion vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2025-61813 is an Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (XXE) vulnerability in Adobe ColdFusion that allows attackers to read arbitrary files from the server filesystem. It affects ColdFusion versions 2025 Update 4 and earlier, 2023 Update 16 and earlier, and 2021 Update 22 and earlier. The vulnerability was disclosed on December 9, 2025, via Adobe security bulletin APSB25-105. The NVD CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.4 (High); Adobe's own CNA scoring assigns it 8.2 (High) (Adobe Advisory, NVD).

The vulnerability is classified as CWE-611 (Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference), where ColdFusion fails to properly restrict the processing of XML external entity references in user-supplied XML input. An attacker can craft a malicious XML document containing an external entity declaration that references sensitive files on the server's filesystem (e.g., configuration files, credential stores), which the XML parser then resolves and returns in the response. Exploitation requires user interaction (e.g., a victim must process or submit the malicious XML), and the scope is changed, meaning the impact extends beyond the vulnerable component itself. No public proof-of-concept code has been identified at this time (Adobe Advisory, NVD).

Successful exploitation allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to read arbitrary files from the ColdFusion server's filesystem, with a high confidentiality impact and no integrity or availability impact (per NVD scoring). Sensitive files at risk include ColdFusion configuration files, application source code, credentials, and operating system files such as /etc/passwd or Windows SAM-related files. Because the scope is changed, the vulnerability may expose resources beyond the ColdFusion application itself, potentially enabling lateral movement or privilege escalation if credentials are harvested (Adobe Advisory, NVD).

1. Reconnaissance: Identify internet-facing Adobe ColdFusion instances running versions 2021 ≤ Update 22, 2023 ≤ Update 16, or 2025 ≤ Update 4 using tools like Shodan or Censys, searching for ColdFusion-specific HTTP headers or default pages.
2. Craft malicious XML payload: Construct an XML document with an external entity declaration referencing a target file, for example:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE foo [
  <!ENTITY xxe SYSTEM "file:///etc/passwd">
]>
<root>&xxe;</root>

3. Deliver payload: Submit the malicious XML to a ColdFusion endpoint that processes XML input (e.g., a web form, API endpoint, or file upload feature). Since user interaction is required, this may involve social engineering a user to trigger the XML processing, or identifying an endpoint where the attacker can supply XML directly.
4. Retrieve sensitive files: Observe the server's response for the contents of the referenced file. Target high-value files such as ColdFusion's neo-datasource.xml, password.properties, or application configuration files containing database credentials.
5. Leverage harvested data: Use extracted credentials or configuration details for further lateral movement, privilege escalation, or unauthorized access to backend systems (Adobe Advisory, NVD).

• Network: Unusual HTTP requests to ColdFusion endpoints containing XML payloads with DOCTYPE, ENTITY, or SYSTEM keywords; outbound DNS or HTTP requests from the ColdFusion server to attacker-controlled infrastructure (OOB XXE exfiltration attempts).
• Logs: ColdFusion access logs showing POST requests with XML content-type to application endpoints; error logs referencing XML parsing failures or external entity resolution errors; requests containing encoded strings such as %3C%21DOCTYPE or %3C%21ENTITY.
• File System: Unexpected access to sensitive files (e.g., neo-datasource.xml, password.properties, /etc/passwd) reflected in OS-level file access audit logs.
• Process: ColdFusion JVM process making unexpected outbound network connections or DNS lookups to external hosts during XML processing.

Adobe has released patches addressing this vulnerability in APSB25-105. Users should upgrade to ColdFusion 2021 Update 23 or later, ColdFusion 2023 Update 17 or later, or ColdFusion 2025 Update 5 or later. As interim mitigations, administrators should disable or restrict XML external entity processing in ColdFusion configurations where possible, implement network-level controls to restrict access to ColdFusion administrative interfaces, and monitor for suspicious XML-based requests. Applying the vendor patch is the recommended and definitive remediation (Adobe Advisory).

The vulnerability was covered in Sophos's December 2025 Patch Tuesday roundup, which highlighted Adobe's December security releases (Sophos Blog). The Center for Internet Security (CIS) issued an advisory noting that multiple vulnerabilities in Adobe products could allow for arbitrary code execution, grouping this CVE with other December 2025 Adobe patches (CIS Advisory). Community reaction has been measured given the lack of public exploit code and the user-interaction requirement, with no notable researcher commentary or significant social media discussion identified beyond standard vulnerability tracking.