ColdFusion (2021 release) Update 13

Last update:

May 18, 2026

Security recommendations

For all security updates, Adobe recommends applying the security configuration settings outlined on the ColdFusion Security page and reviewing the respective Lockdown guides.

Warning:

Check if you need to create and configure connectors after installing the update. View the section Connector Configuration Table for more information.

What's new and changed

Note:

The updates below are cumulative and contain all updates from previous ones. If you are skipping updates, you can apply the latest update, not those you are skipping. Further, you must take note of any changes that are implemented in each of the updates you are skipping.

To install previous updates, see ColdFusion (2021 release) updates.

ColdFusion (2021 release) Update 13 (release date, March 12, 2024) addresses vulnerabilities mentioned in the security bulletin, APSB24-14.

This update includes several security fixes to ensure the safety and security of our systems. These changes address potential vulnerabilities and threats and are part of our ongoing commitment to protecting your data and privacy.

The following sections summarize the changes in the update.

In this document:

Significant changes in the release

SCOPE VARIABLE CHANGES

By default, if ColdFusion finds a variable name without a prefix, it used to check the variable in different scopes in a specific order. The application variable searchimplicitscopes=FALSE was introduced later for performance reason, which meant an unscoped variable wouldn't be searched in the scopes.

Starting with this update, ColdFusion will default to searchimplicitscopes=FALSE and if a variable name is not prefixed with a scope identifier, it can only be resolved by one of the impacted scopes (see below), which can be modified from outside the request.

Adobe has released a patch for ColdFusion (2023 release) and ColdFusion (2021 release) to help identify the unscoped variables in a log file, and take corrective actions. See View unscoped variables in a log file for more information.

What are the scopes that are impacted by the change?

CGI
URL
Form
Cookie
CFFile
Client

For example, the code below will fail with the exception, Variable TEST is undefined.

<cfset cookie.test=1>

<cfoutput>#test#</cfoutput>

If I encounter the error, UndefinedElementException or Variable {xx} is undefined, what should I do?

Option 1: Correct application code to fetch values from the correct scope.

<cfset cookie.test=1>

<cfoutput>#cookie.test#</cfoutput>

*Option 2: Set searchimplicitscopes value back to TRUE.

This can be done by:

Adding the newly introduced flag,-Dcoldfusion.searchimplicitscopes=trueto the jvm arguments,or
Setting searchimplicitscopes key to TRUE in Application.cfc or Application.cfm, in which case it will override the jvm flag set at the server level.

*This option is highly discouraged and should be considered only as a temporary workaround, until all application code is fixed.

View Application variables in ColdFusion for more information.

Note:

Changes in next major release

The JVM flag -Dcoldfusion.searchimplicitscopes will be removed in the next major release of ColdFusion, hence disallowing searching of an unscoped variable in the implicit scopes. This may require application code changes.

CHANGES IN CFDOCUMENT

By default, ColdFusion will now block all protocols, except HTTP and HTTPS when using <iframe src=" "> in the body of cfdocument.

You can allow other protocols using the -Dcoldfusion.iframe.allowedprotocols JVM argument, as shown below:

-Dcoldfusion.iframe.allowedprotocols=file,ftp

Other changes in this release

LIBRARY UPGRADES

Tomcat is upgraded to 9.0.85.
The log4j in cfinstall.jar is updated from version 1.2.17 to 2.20.0 for the zip installers.
ib6coreutil is updated from 1.2 to 1.3.

FILes removed in this update

This update removes some residual files for AIR, Server Manager, and Server Monitoring from the Administrator.

Default block list

In this update, we've added the extensions jar, class, ashx, and asmx extensions to the default block list of CFFILE upload.

To update the block list,

Navigate to Admin > Server settings > Blocked file extensions for CFFile uploads.
Select Restore Default Extensions.
Submit the changes.

Note: If you’ve updated your block list, clicking Restore Default Extensions will delete it. As a precaution, add jar, class, ashx, and asmx to your updated extension list, and save the changes.

Package updates

We've updated the following packages in this update:

adminapi
administrator
ajax
db2
document
htmltopdf
mysql
odbc
pdf
presentation
print
report
saml
sybase

Changes in CKEditor

The disallowed file types in CKEditor for file uploads have been updated to include .jar, .class, .ashx, and .asmx.

Bugs fixed in this update

Bug ID	Description	Component
CF-4219940	After installing the update, ColdFusion is unable to connect to SQL Server.	Database
CF-4220252	Unable to import scheduled tasks using a CAR package in Docker. View the updated ColdFusion serial filter documentation for more information.	Scheduler

ColdFusion JDK flag requirements

COLDFUSION 2021 (version 2021.0.0.323925) and above

For Application Servers 

On JEE installations, set the following JVM flag, "-Djdk.serialFilter= !org.mozilla.**;!com.sun.syndication.**;!org.apache.commons.beanutils.**;!org.jgroups.**;!com.sun.rowset.**", in the respective startup file depending on the type of Application Server being used.

For example:

Apache Tomcat Application Server: edit JAVA_OPTS in the ‘Catalina.bat/sh’ file
WebLogic Application Server: edit JAVA_OPTIONS in the ‘startWeblogic.cmd’ file
WildFly/EAP Application Server: edit JAVA_OPTS in the ‘standalone.conf’ file

Set the JVM flags on a JEE installation of ColdFusion, not on a standalone installation.

Prerequisites

On 64-bit computers, use 64-bit JRE for 64-bit ColdFusion.
If the ColdFusion server is behind a proxy, specify the proxy settings for the server to get the update notification and download the updates. Specify proxy settings using the system properties below in the jvm.config for a stand-alone installation, or corresponding script file for JEE installation.
- http.proxyHost
- http.proxyPort
- http.proxyUser
- http.proxyPassword
For ColdFusion running on JEE application servers, stop all application server instances before installing the update.

Installation

ColdFusion Administrator

In Package Manager > Packages, click Check for Updates in Core Server.

After it detects an update, click Update. The core package gets updated with the latest update.

All installed packages that needs an update get updated.

Restart ColdFusion for the changes to take effect.

Install the update in offline mode manually

Download the hotfix installer from the link.
Unzip the repository to a place where all ColdFusion server instances can access it.
Update "packagesurl" in cfusion/lib/neo_updates.xml of cfusion and all its child instances to point to <InstallerReposityUnzippedPath>/bundles/bundlesdependency.json present inside the downloaded folder.

If the core server hotfix installation is successful and if there are errors or issues with packages, packages can be installed/updated from the package manager client(cfusion\bin\cfpm.bat|cfpm.sh).

You must have privileges to start or stop ColdFusion service and full access to the ColdFusion root directory.

Windows:<cf_root>\jre\bin\java.exe -jar <InstallerReposityUnzippedPath>\bundles\updateinstallers\hotfix-013-330286.jar
Linux-based platforms:<cf_root>/jre/bin/java -jar <InstallerReposityUnzippedPath>/bundles/updateinstallers/hotfix-013-330286.jar

Ensure that the JRE bundled with ColdFusion is used for executing the downloaded JAR. For standalone ColdFusion, this must be at, <cf_root>/jre/bin.

Install the update from a user account with permission to restart ColdFusion services and other configured webservers.

For further details on manually updating the application, see the help article.

Note:

If you are on Java 11.0.20 or higher and want to apply the Hotfix, use the flag java -Djdk.util.zip.disableZip64ExtraFieldValidation=true -jar hotfix.jar.

However, if you are applying the update from the Administrator, you do not require any flag.

Note:

Updating the core package updates all the packages that were downloaded. Also, updating any package updates the core and the rest of the packages. If ColdFusion (2021 release) is on Update 1, installing Update 12 via the admin of any instance updates the core for all other instances present.

Similarly, uninstalling the update from the same instance uninstalls the updates from instances that were updated together.

Post installation

Note:

After applying this update, the ColdFusion build number should be 2021.0.13.330286.

Uninstallation

To uninstall the update, perform one of the following:

In ColdFusion Administrator, click Uninstall in Server Update > Updates > Installed Updates.
Run the uninstaller for the update from the command prompt. For example, java -jar {cf_install_home}/{instance_home}/hf_updates/hf-2021-00013-330286/uninstall /uninstaller.jar

If you can't uninstall the update using the above-mentioned uninstall options, the uninstaller could be corrupted. However, you can manually uninstall the update by doing the following:

Delete the update jar from {cf_install_home}/{instance_name}/lib/updates.
Copy all folders from {cf_install_home}/{instance_name}/hf-updates/{hf-2021-00013-330286}/backup directory to {cf_install_home}/{instance_name}/

Connector configuration

2021 Update	Connector recreation required
Update 13	No However, if upgrading from Update 10 or any previous update, you must recreate the connector. View the following for more information. Configure Connectors in IIS Configure connectors in Apache
Update 12	No However, if upgrading from Update 10 or any previous update, you must recreate the connector. View the following for more information. Configure Connectors in IIS Configure connectors in Apache
Update 11	Yes
Update 10	No
Update 9	No
Update 8	No
Update 7	No
Update 6	No
Update 5	No
Update 4	No
Update 3	No. You need not upgrade the connector if you had already upgraded the connector in Update 2.
Update 2	Yes
Update 1	Yes

Packages updated

Update	Packages updated
Update 13	Yes
Update 12	No
Update 11	Yes
Update 10	No
Update 9	No
Update 8	No
Update 7	No
Update 6	Yes
Update 5	Yes
Update 4	Yes
Update 3	Yes
Update 2	Yes
Update 1	Yes

Document revision history

13 March 2024: Added the impacted scopes and related code samples.

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ColdFusion (2021 release) Update 13

Security recommendations

What's new and changed

Significant changes in the release

SCOPE VARIABLE CHANGES

CHANGES IN CFDOCUMENT

Other changes in this release

LIBRARY UPGRADES

FILes removed in this update

Default block list

Package updates

Changes in CKEditor

Bugs fixed in this update

ColdFusion JDK flag requirements

COLDFUSION 2021 (version 2021.0.0.323925) and above

Prerequisites

Installation

ColdFusion Administrator

Install the update in offline mode manually

Post installation

Uninstallation

Connector configuration

Packages updated

Document revision history

On this page