What is CVE-2018-15961?

CVE-2018-15961 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Adobe Coldfusion, classified under Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2018-09-25.

How severe is CVE-2018-15961?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2018-15961 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2018-15961 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03), indicating it is being actively exploited. 39 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.

Arbitrary file upload in Adobe Coldfusion

CVE-2018-15961

Adobe ColdFusion versions July 12 release (2018.0.0.310739), Update 6 and earlier, and Update 14 and earlier have an unrestricted file upload vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.

Vulnerability class: Unrestricted File Upload

Published 2018-09-25 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 1.000 (100.0th percentile), scored 2026-10-02.

Very high probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — among the top 0.1% most-likely-to-be-exploited CVEs. 100th percentile — 100.0% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 1.000 · newest: 1.000 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Adobe Coldfusion — versions 2016, 11.0, 2018

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-434 — Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2021-11-03. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2022-05-03.

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

helpx.adobe.com/security/products/coldfusion/apsb18-33.html (Vendor Advisory)
www.securityfocus.com/bid/105314 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry, Broken Link)
www.securitytracker.com/id/1041621 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry, Broken Link)
www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45979/ (Exploit, VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, exploit)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-15961?: CVE-2018-15961 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Adobe Coldfusion, classified under Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2018-09-25.
How severe is CVE-2018-15961?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2018-15961 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2018-15961 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03), indicating it is being actively exploited. 39 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.