CVE-2025-30294 is a vulnerability identified in Adobe ColdFusion versions 2023.12, 2021.18, 2025.0, and earlier. The issue stems from improper input validation (CWE-20), which allows a high-privileged attacker to bypass security protections and gain unauthorized read access to sensitive data. The vulnerability does not require user interaction for exploitation, and the scope of impact is changed, indicating that the attacker can access resources beyond their original privileges. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.8 (medium severity), with the vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N, meaning the attack can be performed remotely over the network with low attack complexity, but requires high privileges. The vulnerability impacts confidentiality significantly (high confidentiality impact), but does not affect integrity or availability. The scope change indicates that the attacker can access resources outside their initial security boundary. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no official patches have been linked yet. This vulnerability could be leveraged by insiders or attackers who have already obtained elevated privileges to further escalate their access and exfiltrate sensitive information from ColdFusion servers.

For European organizations using Adobe ColdFusion, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the confidentiality of sensitive data processed or stored by ColdFusion applications. Given that ColdFusion is often used for enterprise web applications, unauthorized read access could lead to exposure of personal data, intellectual property, or other confidential information, potentially violating GDPR and other data protection regulations. The fact that exploitation requires high privileges limits the risk to attackers who have already compromised internal systems or have insider access; however, once exploited, the attacker can bypass security controls and access data beyond their original permissions. This could facilitate further lateral movement, data theft, or espionage activities. The lack of user interaction requirement means automated exploitation is possible once the attacker has the necessary privileges. European organizations in sectors such as finance, government, healthcare, and critical infrastructure that rely on ColdFusion for web services are particularly at risk. The confidentiality breach could lead to regulatory fines, reputational damage, and operational disruption.

Organizations should prioritize the following mitigation steps: 1) Immediately inventory all ColdFusion instances and verify their versions to identify affected deployments. 2) Monitor Adobe's official channels for patches or security advisories addressing CVE-2025-30294 and apply updates promptly once available. 3) Restrict and audit administrative and high-privilege access to ColdFusion servers to minimize the risk of privilege misuse. 4) Implement strict network segmentation to limit access to ColdFusion servers only to authorized personnel and systems. 5) Employ application-layer monitoring and logging to detect unusual read access patterns or attempts to bypass security controls. 6) Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focused on privilege escalation and input validation weaknesses in ColdFusion applications. 7) Consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious input patterns that could exploit this vulnerability. 8) Educate internal teams about the risks of privilege misuse and enforce strong authentication and authorization policies. These targeted measures go beyond generic patching advice and address the specific exploitation vectors and risk factors associated with this vulnerability.