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Beware you can't install CF updates via the CF Admin after Jul 2023 JVM update

Be aware: if you update ColdFusion to run using the latest JVM updates (released July 18, 2023), you will encounter challenges, which have solutions as I describe here.

You will find that you can no longer INSTALL CF updates via the CF admin, if CF is using this new Java version. And even if the CF update is run from the command line, if using this newer Java version that also will fail. In either case, there is a new JVM argument that solved the problem, as I discuss below.

This is happening in CF2023, 2021, and 2018. (And this may continue to happen with future JVM updates, until Adobe otherwise addresses the problem.)

As an update, you may want to read a more recent post I did on this matter, in October 2023.

As an another update, when I first created this post originally on July 21st, another problem was that you would find that you could no longer use the CF Administrator to download CF updates, if CF was running this new Java version. You would get an error reporting, "Failed Signature verification"--or in some cases you may see only "error failed". But within a couple of weeks, I found that the CF Admin COULD now download updates (including the August 2023 CF update) but the CF update STILL fails to install correctly, as discussed in this post, unless the workaround offered is used.

FWIW, Adobe has also updated the technotes for CF2021 update 10 and CF2023 update 4 with a text box at the top that acknowledges this issue and points to this post for more detail.

In this post, I explain a) what this is all about, then b) how you can fix the problem of INSTALLING the update using the CF Admin, I'll explain how it seems we HAVE to workaround that problem (for now). I also offer a link to a bug report I've filed. I even offer a thought on how this new JVM update may prove over time to affect MORE than just this, and even MORE than just CF (and Lucee) but many java apps. Read on for more.

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A third Priority 1 CF security update has been released, Jul 19 2023

Just days after two P1 CF security updates were released on Jul 11 and 14, Adobe has released yet another on Jul 19.

Yes, this is shocking. Yes, unless there's a good explanation, I can understand how many would feel "someone on the CF team should be flogged". Don't shoot me: I'm just the messenger. I don't work for Adobe.

But I will add that in this post, besides just sharing news about the update (and more than JUST pointing to the update), I also offer an ADDITIONAL "fix" some will want to consider, to go BEYOND what this update addresses. See the discussion on "blocking the _cfclient query string".

Read on for more, where I cover:

  • Finding more info on this update
  • A suggestion on blocking the _cfclient query string
  • News for those doing manual offline installs: this update DOES have a zip
  • As for doing a Java update along with this update
  • CF2018 WAS indeed also updated

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A second priority 1 CF security update in one week, released Jul 14 2023

Just days after a P1 security update released on Jul 11, Adobe has released yet another on Jul 14. (I don't recall such a short gap between updates before, so yes: it's unusual.)

For more on the update, and some additional thoughts, read on.

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P1 security update released Jul 11 2023 for ColdFusion 2023, 2021, and 2018

Folks using CF2023, 2021, or 2018 will want to know that a Priority 1 security update has been released today affecting all 3 releases, update 1 for CF2023 (its first), update 7 for CF2021, and update 17 for CF2018 (its last). The security bulletin indicates that the updates "resolve critical and important vulnerabilities that could lead to arbitrary code execution and security feature bypass".

Update: 3 days after this update, Adobe released yet another, and then 4 days after that they released yet another, both p1 security updates. While I have posts on each of the two subsequent updates, the one on Jul 14 and then the one on Jul 19, the information below is still important and has details that I do not repeat in the later post.

For more resources as well as some additional thoughts on the updates, read on.

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ColdFusion 2023 released, May 17 2023: resources and thoughts

ColdFusion 2023 has been released today, May 17 2023. For more on the many features, see the following several Adobe blog posts and substantial documentation resources they released also today, about which I offer some additional comment below.

I also discuss changes in OS support (saving you having to compare the docs discussing that), as well as the change to CF2023 running on Java 17 (which you could miss, as it's not highlighted by Adobe in any of the announcement resources.) I also discuss changes in the licensing document/EULA (again, to save you having to do that comparison), as well as an observation about pricing (it has not changed since CF2021).

I also discuss some migration considerations and close by pointing out the Hidden Gems in CF2023 talk that I did, based on the prerelease. I plan to update that in time based on this final release.

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Delighted to be speaking at CFCamp 2023

I'm delighted to announce that I've been selected to speak at CFCamp 2023, in Munich this June. This will be my 7th year in a row presenting at this wonderful event (not counting when it was skipped in 2020-22), and my 8th year total.

(While I said "thrilled" about my previous two conference announcements, saying "delighted" here is not a downgrade. Just a desire not to sound repetitive!)

My talk will be...

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Thrilled to be speaking at Adobe CF Summit East, Apr 6

I'm thrilled to announce that I've been asked to present again at the Adobe ColdFusion Summit East 2023, a free one-day conference being held in Washington DC on Apr 6, at the Marriott Marquis.

For more on the event, my talk, and how this means I have to skip attending/speaking at DevNexus the same week, read on.

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Be aware that ColdFusion 2018 end-of-life (and end of updates) is coming July 2023

Are you still running ColdFusion 2018? Did you know that its end-of-life is July 13, 2023? That's the date that "core" support ends--meaning, no more updates from Adobe after that, not even security fixes.

As for CF2021, it gets updates into 2025, and the currently running pre-release of CF2023 is a great sign for the continued vitality of CF. But this looming deadline for CF2018 is a reminder that as the years roll on, we not only get new versions but we must say good-bye to old ones.

Wondering what you can do? or when CF2021 or CF2023 support will end also? And what's the difference between "core" and "extended" support Adobe sells? (The extended support plan does NOT provide updates beyond this coming July.) For more on these, including official Adobe documentation that discusses such things, as well as my thoughts on migration, costs, various options to consider, and more, do read on.

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Adobe has started to open the prerelease Alpha for ColdFusion 2023 (codename Fortuna)

If you're active in social media you may have heard the news already, but for those who are not, Adobe has started to open the prerelease program for the next CF version, aka ColdFusion 2023--though known for now formally by its code name, Project Fortuna. You can find out more (and request to join) the prerelease program at its page on the Adobe prerelease site (where you will see as well as all kinds of prereleases for other Adobe products).

For now, only the Alpha has been announced, and the number of registrants allowed may be limited.

For more on that and about the prerelease (what can be gleaned/shared publicly), read on.

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