CVE-2025-43778
📋 TL;DR
A stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Liferay Portal and DXP allows authenticated attackers to inject malicious JavaScript through fieldset names in Kaleo Forms Admin. The payload persists and executes without proper sanitization, potentially compromising user sessions and data. This affects authenticated users of vulnerable Liferay versions.
💻 Affected Systems
- Liferay Portal
- Liferay DXP
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could steal session cookies, perform actions as authenticated users, deface content, or redirect users to malicious sites, potentially leading to account takeover and data theft.
Likely Case
Attackers with authenticated access inject malicious scripts that execute when other users view affected forms, potentially stealing session tokens or performing unauthorized actions.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output encoding, the risk is limited to authenticated users with specific permissions, and impact is contained to the application context.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access and knowledge of the vulnerable fieldset name parameter in Kaleo Forms Admin.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Liferay Portal 7.4.3.133+; Liferay DXP 2025.Q2.12+, 2025.Q1.17+, 2024.Q4.8+, 2024.Q3.14+, 2024.Q2.14+, 2024.Q1.21+
Vendor Advisory: https://liferay.dev/portal/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/jekt/content/CVE-2025-43778
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Download the appropriate fix pack from Liferay's customer portal. 2. Apply the fix pack according to Liferay's deployment documentation. 3. Verify the patch is applied by checking the version.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Filter
allImplement a servlet filter or middleware to sanitize fieldset name parameters before processing.
Restrict Access
allLimit access to Kaleo Forms Admin functionality to only trusted administrators.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution sources.
- Enable XSS protection headers like X-XSS-Protection and X-Content-Type-Options.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if your Liferay version falls within the affected ranges and if authenticated users can modify fieldset names in Kaleo Forms Admin.Check Version:
Check the Liferay Control Panel or server logs for version information, or use the Liferay API to query version details.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify the installed version is at or above the patched versions listed, and test that fieldset names are properly sanitized.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual fieldset name modifications containing script tags or JavaScript code in Kaleo Forms Admin logs.
- Multiple failed or successful attempts to inject script-like content into fieldset parameters.
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing script tags or JavaScript in fieldset name parameters to Kaleo Forms Admin endpoints.
SIEM Query:
source="liferay_logs" AND (fieldset_name CONTAINS "<script>" OR fieldset_name CONTAINS "javascript:")