# CVE-2010-5290: Auth bypass in n/a

> Attackers with read access to configuration files can bypass authentication using password hashes to gain administrative privileges in Adobe ColdFusion.

- **Severity:** Critical 10.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 20 Sep 2013
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-755h-qpqx-6774

## What is CVE-2010-5290?

CVE-2010-5290 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in Adobe Coldfusion, published on 20 Sep 2013. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The authentication process in Adobe ColdFusion before 10 does not require knowledge of the cleartext password if the password hash is known, which makes it easier for context-dependent attackers to obtain administrative privileges by leveraging read access to the configuration file, a different vulnerability than CVE-2010-2861.

Weakness: CWE-255

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2010-5290?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Adobe Coldfusion.

## How do I fix CVE-2010-5290?

No fix has been published for CVE-2010-5290 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2010-5290 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2010-5290 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Adobe Coldfusion

- [CVE-2026-48282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-48282/): Adobe ColdFusion Path Traversal (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2023-38203](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38203/): Adobe ColdFusion Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2023-29300](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-29300/): Adobe ColdFusion Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2023-26359](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-26359/): Adobe ColdFusion Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-15961](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-15961/): Adobe ColdFusion Unrestricted File Upload (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2010-5290 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2010-5290 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in Adobe Coldfusion, published on 20 Sep 2013. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2010-5290 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Adobe Coldfusion. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-5290/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-5290/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2010-5290
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-5290
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2010-5290

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-5290/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.