DC was buzzing on March 26 as more than 100 ColdFusion enthusiasts filled the room for CF Summit East 2025. The sessions? Hands-on and honest. The crowd? All-in. ColdFusion might be turning 30, but it’s clearly not slowing down—and neither are the people building with it.

Vivek Kumar kicked off the day with a keynote on the direction ColdFusion is heading. He spoke about the latest release—Adobe ColdFusion (2025 release)—and shared how Adobe continues to invest in speed, security, and deployment flexibility. The talk gave a glimpse into what’s shaping the platform’s future, from better developer experience to new features the community’s been asking for.

Here’s a breakdown of all the practical, developer-focused sessions from the day:

Advanced Cryptography in Adobe ColdFusion

Justin Scott walked through how to build secure apps using ColdFusion’s built-in cryptography. He explained password hashing with Bcrypt and SCrypt, using generatePBKDFKey(), and why functions like encrypt() need to be used with care. If you’ve ever questioned your app’s password handling or token generation—this was a must-attend.

I Am Afraid of No Test!

Luis Majano showed how developers can shift from “we’ll test it later” to actual test coverage using TestBox. He explained how Test-Driven Development (TDD) and Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) work in the real world, using ColdBox or vanilla CFML. Bonus: he even walked through common excuses developers make—and how to move past them.

Supercharge Your Adobe ColdFusion Applications through SQL

Dave Ferguson took a fun but brutally honest approach to SQL optimization. He showed how even “working” queries could slow your app down and explained how to use query execution plans, indexes, and parameterized queries to prevent that. If you’ve ever seen SELECT * in your codebase—this session probably hit home.

Using Performance Testing for Scaling Your Adobe ColdFusion Application Architectures

Dakota Clum from xByte Cloud tackled the age-old question: Do we really need another server, or just better tuning? He walked through using tools like JMeter and k6 to stress test ColdFusion apps and find bottlenecks. His advice on how to monitor, fine-tune, and prep CF servers for scale was full of real-world examples.

Utilizing Github Copilot in Adobe ColdFusion Development

Monte Chan gave a walkthrough of how GitHub Copilot can assist ColdFusion developers. He shared best practices, examples of using Copilot with VS Code, and how to avoid bad suggestions. For anyone curious about AI-assisted coding but unsure where to start—this session gave a helpful push.

Hidden GEMS in Adobe ColdFusion 2025

Charlie Arehart returned with his signature session, this time diving into the lesser-known but powerful features in ColdFusion 2025. From Docker improvements and admin UI tweaks to new language additions- he covered it all with live demos and quick wins.

Securing Adobe ColdFusion Applications: A Walk through the CWE Top 25

Pete Freitag broke down the Top 25 Most Dangerous Software Weaknesses (CWE) and how they show up in ColdFusion applications. From input validation issues to insecure deserialization, Pete’s advice was practical and actionable—especially for developers maintaining legacy CF code.

Securing Your Adobe ColdFusion Applications with JSON Web Tokens (JWTs)

Kevin D. Wright covered JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) and how to use them in ColdFusion for stateless authentication. He gave a full walkthrough on createSignedJWT() and verifyEncryptedJWT()—a great session for anyone building or securing APIs.

AI-Driven Observability: Transforming DevOps and Application Performance with FusionReactor and OpsPilot AI

David Tattersall introduced OpsPilot, an AI assistant that works with FusionReactor to give performance insights in real time. He also showed how ColdFusion developers can quickly spin up performance dashboards and improve troubleshooting across environments.

Container-based Development with Docker, Adobe ColdFusion, and ColdFusion Builder Extension for VS Code

Corbin Crutchley showed how to build a full ColdFusion dev workflow using Docker and VS Code—from local setup to Git integration. A hands-on session for developers modernizing their development lifecycle.

DOM as a Source of Truth

Steve Bryant made a strong case for letting the DOM drive your JavaScript. Through practical examples, he showed how Progressive Enhancement leads to cleaner code, better performance, and functionality that aligns with the web’s original design.

Recent Language Enhancements in Adobe ColdFusion

Mark Takata highlighted key CFScript enhancements across ColdFusion 2021, 2023, and 2025. From syntax improvements to new functions, he showed how these updates streamline development and boost productivity for ColdFusion coders.

STIG: Preparing your Adobe ColdFusion 2023 install to meet DISA’s Compliance Requirements

Brian Bockhold detailed how to prepare ColdFusion 2023 installs for DISA compliance. He walked through the upcoming STIG, offering guidance on configuration best practices for secure deployments in defense and government environments.

Grab the Presentations and Code

If you missed the event or want to revisit your favorite talk, all resources from the Summit are available here:
🔗 Summit East 2025 Presentations & Code

Next Stop: ColdFusion Turns 30 in Vegas

This year marks 30 years of ColdFusion, and we’re celebrating it at Adobe ColdFusion Summit 2025 in Las Vegas. Expect more sessions, more community, and a bigger look at where ColdFusion is headed next. Join us in Vegas. Be part of the next chapter.

Register now: Home | CF Summit 2025