CVE-2024-26266
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes multiple stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in Liferay Portal and DXP. Authenticated attackers can inject malicious scripts into user profile name fields that then execute when displayed in Announcement or Alerts widgets. This affects organizations running vulnerable versions of Liferay Portal 7.2.0-7.4.3.13 and Liferay DXP 7.4 before update 10, 7.3 before update 4, and 7.2 before fix pack 17.
💻 Affected Systems
- Liferay Portal
- Liferay DXP
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An authenticated attacker could steal session cookies, perform actions as other users, deface the portal, or redirect users to malicious sites, potentially leading to complete account compromise and data theft.
Likely Case
Attackers with authenticated access could perform session hijacking, steal sensitive data from other users' sessions, or manipulate portal content to spread malware or phishing links.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output encoding, the malicious payloads would be rendered harmless as text rather than executable code.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but is straightforward once authenticated. The vulnerability is in core widgets that are commonly used.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Liferay Portal 7.4.3.14+, Liferay DXP 7.4 update 10+, 7.3 update 4+, 7.2 fix pack 17+
Vendor Advisory: https://liferay.dev/portal/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/jekt/content/cve-2024-26266
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download the appropriate patch from Liferay's customer portal. 2. Apply the patch following Liferay's patch installation guide. 3. Restart the Liferay server. 4. Verify the fix by checking the version and testing the vulnerable fields.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Filter
allImplement server-side input validation to sanitize user input in first/middle/last name fields
Implement custom portlet filter or hook to sanitize User object fields before persistence
Output Encoding
allApply proper output encoding in Announcement and Alerts widget templates
Modify widget templates to use Liferay's escape methods like HtmlUtil.escape()
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable Announcement and Alerts widgets globally or restrict access to trusted users only
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block XSS payloads in user profile fields
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Liferay version via Control Panel → Configuration → Server Administration → System Information, or check liferay.home/version.txtCheck Version:
Check ${liferay.home}/version.txt or via Control Panel interfaceVerify Fix Applied:
After patching, verify version is updated and test by attempting to inject script tags into user name fields and checking if they execute in Announcement/Alerts widgets📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual length or special characters in user profile name fields
- Multiple profile updates from single user accounts
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected script tags or JavaScript in HTTP responses from Announcement/Alerts endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="liferay.log" AND ("User.update" OR "profile.modified") AND ("<script>" OR "javascript:" OR unusual character patterns in name fields)