ColdFusion Version Comparison
Comprehensive comparison of ColdFusion 2025 against legacy versions to help you evaluate upgrade benefits, understand performance improvements, and plan migration efforts.
Quick Decision Guide
✅ Upgrade Immediately If:
- Running CF 11, 2016 (end of life, critical security risk)
- Compliance requirements demand current security patches
- Performance issues under current load
- Planning new features requiring modern Java/containers
⚡ Upgrade Soon If:
- Running CF 2018 (approaching end of support)
- Wanting JDK 17 performance benefits (30-40% improvement)
- Need cloud/container deployment capabilities
- Require advanced security features (MFA, session hardening)
📅 Plan Upgrade If:
- Running CF 2021, 2023 (stable, supported)
- Want latest features and performance optimizations
- Preparing for long-term platform modernization
- Evaluating package management with cfpm
Feature Comparison Matrix
| Feature | CF 11 | CF 2016 | CF 2018 | CF 2021 | CF 2023 | CF 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support Status | EOL | EOL | Extended Only | Core Support | Full Support | Full Support |
| Java Version | Java 7/8 | Java 8/11 | Java 11 | Java 11 | Java 11/17 | Java 17 LTS |
| Application Server | Tomcat 7 | Tomcat 8 | Tomcat 9 | Tomcat 9 | Tomcat 10 | Tomcat 10.1 |
| Package Management (cfpm) | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | Limited | ✅ Full |
| Container Support | ❌ | Manual | Manual | Manual | Official Images | ✅ Official + Optimized |
| Performance Monitoring (PMT) | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | Basic | Enhanced | ✅ Full Elastic Stack |
| Admin MFA Support | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | Basic | ✅ Full MFA |
| Session Security | Basic | Basic | Enhanced | Enhanced | Advanced | ✅ Full (SameSite, etc) |
| REST API Enhancements | Basic | Improved | Improved | Enhanced | Advanced | ✅ Full OpenAPI |
| PDF Services | Basic | Enhanced | Enhanced | PDFg | PDFg Enhanced | ✅ PDFg Advanced |
Performance Benchmarks Across Versions
Benchmarks conducted on identical hardware (8 CPU, 16GB RAM) with same application workload (500 concurrent users, mixed page/API requests).
Response Time (P95)
Throughput (Requests/sec)
Memory Efficiency (Heap @ Steady State)
GC Pause Time (Average)
Security Improvements Timeline
Known CVEs: 47 unpatched
Risk Level: Extreme - Do not use
Known CVEs: 23 unpatched
Risk Level: Extreme - Migrate immediately
Extended Until: July 2026
Risk Level: Moderate - Plan migration
Extended Until: May 2028
Risk Level: Low - Stable platform
Extended Until: July 2030
Risk Level: Very Low - Current platform
Extended Until: 2032+
Risk Level: Minimal - Latest security features
Migration Effort Estimates
| From Version | Code Changes | Testing Effort | Typical Timeline | Risk Level | Recommended Approach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CF 11 → 2025 | High (30-40%) | Extensive | 6-12 months | High | Phased: CF 11 → 2018 → 2025 |
| CF 2016 → 2025 | Moderate (20-30%) | Significant | 4-8 months | Medium | Phased: CF 2016 → 2021 → 2025 |
| CF 2018 → 2025 | Low (10-15%) | Moderate | 2-4 months | Low | Direct migration with testing |
| CF 2021 → 2025 | Minimal (5-10%) | Standard | 1-2 months | Very Low | Direct migration |
| CF 2023 → 2025 | Minimal (<5%) | Light | 2-4 weeks | Very Low | Direct upgrade |
Key Takeaways
🚨 Urgent Action Required
If running CF 11 or 2016, migration is critical due to end-of-life status and unpatched security vulnerabilities. Plan immediate migration path.
⚡ Performance Gains
CF 2025 delivers 2.5x throughput improvement and 5x faster response times compared to CF 11, with 50% lower memory usage due to JDK 17 and G1GC optimizations.
🔒 Security Enhancements
CF 2025 includes MFA support, advanced session security (SameSite cookies), comprehensive security headers, and container security hardening not available in legacy versions.
🐳 Modern Deployment
Official container support, cfpm package management, and cloud-native features make CF 2025 suitable for Kubernetes and modern CI/CD pipelines.
Need Migration Assistance?
Convective has successfully migrated hundreds of ColdFusion applications from legacy versions to CF 2025. Our team can assess your current environment, create a migration plan, and execute the upgrade with minimal downtime.
Discuss Your Migration