CVE-2023-42498
📋 TL;DR
This reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Liferay Portal and DXP allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into the Language Override edit screen. When exploited, it can enable session hijacking, credential theft, or website defacement. Affected users include organizations running vulnerable versions of Liferay Portal 7.4.3.8-7.4.3.97 or Liferay DXP 2023.Q3 before patch 5 and 7.4 update 4-92.
💻 Affected Systems
- Liferay Portal
- Liferay DXP
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete account takeover, administrative privilege escalation, data exfiltration, and full compromise of the Liferay instance.
Likely Case
Session hijacking, credential theft, website defacement, and limited data exposure.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact if proper input validation and output encoding are implemented.
🎯 Exploit Status
Reflected XSS typically requires user interaction (clicking a malicious link) but is straightforward to exploit once the vulnerable parameter is identified.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Liferay Portal 7.4.3.98+, Liferay DXP 2023.Q3 patch 5+, 7.4 update 93+
Vendor Advisory: https://liferay.dev/portal/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/jekt/content/cve-2023-42498
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download the appropriate patch from Liferay's customer portal. 2. Apply the patch according to Liferay's patching documentation. 3. Restart the Liferay server. 4. Verify the fix by testing the vulnerable parameter.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Filter
allImplement a web application firewall (WAF) or custom filter to sanitize the _com_liferay_portal_language_override_web_internal_portlet_PLOPortlet_key parameter.
Content Security Policy (CSP)
allDeploy a strict CSP header to mitigate script injection impact.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement WAF rules to block malicious input patterns targeting the vulnerable parameter.
- Restrict access to the Language Override edit screen to trusted users only.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test the _com_liferay_portal_language_override_web_internal_portlet_PLOPortlet_key parameter with a benign payload like <script>alert('test')</script> and check if it executes.Check Version:
Check the Liferay version via the Control Panel → Configuration → Server Administration → System Information.Verify Fix Applied:
After patching, repeat the test with the same payload; it should be properly encoded and not execute.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual requests to the Language Override edit screen with script-like content in the parameter.
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing script tags or JavaScript in the _com_liferay_portal_language_override_web_internal_portlet_PLOPortlet_key parameter.
SIEM Query:
http.uri contains "_com_liferay_portal_language_override_web_internal_portlet_PLOPortlet_key" AND (http.uri contains "<script>" OR http.uri contains "javascript:")