CVE-2025-49537 is a high-severity OS Command Injection vulnerability (CWE-78) affecting multiple versions of Adobe ColdFusion, specifically versions 2025.2, 2023.14, 2021.20, and earlier. The vulnerability arises from improper neutralization of special elements used in operating system commands, allowing an attacker with high privileges to execute arbitrary code on the affected system. The vulnerability scope is changed, indicating that exploitation can affect components beyond the initially targeted scope. Exploitation requires user interaction, which suggests that an attacker must trick a legitimate user into performing an action that triggers the vulnerability. The vulnerable component is restricted to internal IP addresses, implying that the attack surface is limited to internal networks or VPN-connected users. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.9, reflecting high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, with attack vector being adjacent (AV:A), low attack complexity (AC:L), requiring high privileges (PR:H), and user interaction (UI:R). The vulnerability allows an attacker to execute arbitrary OS commands, potentially leading to full system compromise, data exfiltration, or disruption of services. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no official patches are linked yet, indicating that organizations should prioritize monitoring and mitigation efforts proactively.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk, especially for enterprises and public sector entities using Adobe ColdFusion for web application development and deployment. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized code execution with high privileges, resulting in data breaches, service outages, and potential lateral movement within internal networks. Since the vulnerable component is limited to internal IP addresses, the threat is particularly relevant to organizations with complex internal networks, remote access solutions, or insufficient network segmentation. Critical infrastructure providers, financial institutions, and government agencies in Europe that rely on ColdFusion-based applications could face operational disruptions and reputational damage. The requirement for user interaction reduces the likelihood of automated widespread exploitation but does not eliminate the risk of targeted phishing or social engineering attacks. The changed scope of the vulnerability means that the impact could extend beyond a single application, potentially affecting interconnected systems and services within an organization.

European organizations should implement the following specific mitigation strategies: 1) Immediately inventory all Adobe ColdFusion instances and identify versions 2025.2, 2023.14, 2021.20, and earlier to assess exposure. 2) Restrict internal network access to ColdFusion servers using strict network segmentation and firewall rules to limit access only to trusted hosts and users. 3) Implement robust user awareness training to reduce the risk of social engineering and user interaction exploitation vectors. 4) Monitor internal network traffic and ColdFusion logs for unusual command execution attempts or anomalous behavior indicative of exploitation attempts. 5) Apply principle of least privilege to ColdFusion service accounts and users to minimize potential damage from high-privilege exploitation. 6) Deploy application-layer security controls such as Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block OS command injection patterns. 7) Regularly check Adobe security advisories for patches or updates addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available. 8) Consider temporary disabling or isolating vulnerable ColdFusion components if immediate patching is not feasible, to reduce attack surface.