We only experienced it with CF2023, but others have reported the problem in the past, with various CF updates to any CF version. As I'll explain it seems to be a caching problem relative to Adobe's servers (so some people may experience it, but not others):

• First, you may find that after applying the update all the of the packages that were to be updated by the release will instead be UINSTALLED unexpectedly/
• Even worse, that could mean that the administrator package is uninstalled, such that you can't get to the CF Admin after the update...which will also mean you can't use the admin to try to "uninstall the update" (if you wanted to).

Of course, you could go the command line route, as you would be told to consider doing if the Administrator package was uninstalled, using CF's cfpm tool to either install the admin package or even perhaps try to uninstall the update entirely.

But I have what seems to be a better solution. It's quite simple, but bear with me while I explain it...both to help you (and Adobe) better understand what seems amiss, and in case more info may come out soon from them or other folks.

Beware also that if you may have "solved the problem" yourself, consider what I have to say below--you should confirm that you DO in fact have the correctly UPDATED packages, which you may have installed using that cfpm tool.

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In brief, this update (for all 3 versions) ad.dresses several P1 (Priority 1, "Critical") security vulnerabilities, and also updates Tomcat, along with updating several CF packages, and makes some other changes (see below). Note that Adobe is also reporting currently that, "Adobe is not aware of any exploits in the wild for any of the issues addressed in these updates."

In this post, I share the details about the update (from Adobe and from others). I also share additional info you may want to consider before (or after) doing the update. 

Having installed the update for each of the releases on multiple machines, I can report that it went well expect for this:

Warning: beware that some folks implementing the update for CF2023 the first day (myself included) found that after applying the update, the CF Admin was inaccessible and packages that were updates were unexpectedly uninstalled. I have offered a follow-up blog post on that, One explanation and solution for when applying CF updates uninstalls new packages unexpectedly, including how to solve the problem as I see it, and how to ensure your own manual efforts to solve it are complete.

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There's more to consider. For that, read on.

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As usual, there are a number of things you should consider before (or after) doing the update, with some discussed in Adobe's resources on the update (there are more than one), and some info that I share below based on my experience helping people apply this and past updates.

In this post, I share the details about the update (from Adobe and from others). I can report I have installed the update for each release on multiple machines and operating systems without any major incidents. As for challenges (common to recent releases) and lessons learned (about this update), read on.

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As usual, there are a number of things you should consider before (or after) doing the update, with some discussed in Adobe's resources on the update (more than one), and some that I share below based on my experience helping people apply this and past updates. Finally, the update corrects some issues introduced in the previous updates, released in May.

In this post, I share the details about the update (from Adobe and from others). I can report I have installed the update for each release on multiple machines and operating systems without any major incidents. As for challenges (common to recent releases) and lessons learned (about this update), read on.

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The update also incorporates potentially breaking changes (with Adobe trading compatibility for security), while it also includes configurable options to undo those changes (if you prefer to trade away security for compatibility). Finally, the update corrects some issues introduced in the previous updates, released in April.

In this post, I share the details about the update (from Adobe and from others). I can report I have installed both updates on multiple machines and operating systems without incident. As for challenges or lessons learned, I may do a follow-up post as I/we all learn more.

For more details, read on.

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This should not be confused of course with the "Hidden Gems in CF2025" talk which I also just announced that I'd be presenting at the upcoming CF Summit East (next week in DC) and CFCamp (in Munich in late May). It'll be a busy few weeks! :-)

As with them, it's always a thrill to attend this annual event. Following is the topic description and more.

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You can't just use "any" jvm version with CF: it depends on first on what version of CF you are using, and then may even depend on what CF update has been applied to that CF version. (You also can't use Java from any vendor: Adobe supports only use of Oracle Java, and they license it for our use, as I discuss later.) And to be clear, currently ONLY CF2025 supports Java 21. (And with Java 24 coming out in Mar 2025 as the latest LTS or "long-term support" Java releases, note that NO CF version currently supports that.)

So in this post, I offer a table that clarifies things, listing the various recent CF versions (even those no longer supported) and what (LTS) Java versions they supported, including if some CF update of a version changes the Java version supported.

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TLDR; Now through Feb 28, 2025 those running CF9, 10, 11, 2016 or 2018 can upgrade to CF2023 for 25% off its full price. (Those running CF2021 can already/always could upgrade at 50% off the full price.)

This is a deal offered only by Intergral, makers of FusionReactor, who are also resellers of CF. Adobe doesn't even offer this deal themselves. For more, see their blog post at https://fusion-reactor.com/blog/news/save-25-on-adobe-cf2023-upgrades/.

Act now, it could save you hundreds or even thousands of $$s on a single license! For more, read on.

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What about more recent releases, if you may wonder? CF 2023 (the current latest release) will get updates into 2028 (5 years after it was release). And there's the coming CF 2025 release, currently in pre-release (as I have recently blogged about), which is of course a great sign for the continued vitality of CF.

But this looming deadline for CF2021 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 CF2023 or CF2025 support will end also? And what's the difference between "core" support and the available "extended" support which Adobe sells? (The extended support plan does NOT provide updates beyond this coming November.) 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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