NII Advisory - Path Disclosure in Cold Fusion MX Server

["Network Intelligence India Pvt. Ltd." <info () nii co in>]

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Path Disclosure in Macromedia ColdFusion MX Server
Vendor: Macromedia http://www.macromedia.com
Versions affected: ColdFusion MX Server
Operating System: Windows 2000
Date: 26th April 2003
Severity: Low

Network Intelligence India Pvt. Ltd. http://www.nii.co.in
Online location: http://www.nii.co.in/vuln/pdmac.html
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Background:
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Macromedia Cold Fusion MX Server is a powerful web application server that lets you create robust sites and 
applications without a long learning curve.


Description:
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In its default installation, the Macromedia ColdFusion MX Server starts a web server (jrun) on port 8500. This is 
mainly for administrative purposes. When this server is accessed with the following URL 
http://host:8500/CFIDE/probe.cfm, an error message is displayed which reveals the Physical path of the location where 
the MX Server has been installed.

Error occured in:
C:\CFusionMX\wwwroot\CFIDE\probe.cfm:line56

Vendor Response:
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The vendor response is that this is a feature controlled by the 'Debugging Settinsg' page in the Administrator console. 
[X] Enable Robust Exception Information. This checkbox is checked by default on a new installation to allow application 
development. For a production system the checkbox must be disabled.


Impact:
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Like with any other Path Disclosure, this bug would only allow vital information to be disclosed. By itself, it will 
not allow for a system compromise, but in conjunction with some other vulnerability in a Web app or in the server, it 
might be dangerous.


Workaround:
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Disable the checkbox mentioned above in a production environment. Alternatively, firewall the 8500 port to disable 
outside access to the administrator's console. It looks like the old debate on feature-or-bug, where the default 
configuration is not secure out-of-the-box.


About NII
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You may read our other advisories at http://www.nii.co.in/research/advisories.html

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Disclaimer:
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The information contained in this advisory is copyright (c) 2003 Network Intelligence India Pvt. Ltd. This advisory may 
be redistributed, provided that no fee is assigned and that the advisory is not modified in any way.