CVE-2025-43812
📋 TL;DR
This cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability allows authenticated users to inject malicious scripts into web content templates in Liferay Portal and DXP. Attackers can execute arbitrary JavaScript in victims' browsers when they view the compromised content. Affected systems include Liferay Portal 7.4.3.4-7.4.3.111 and Liferay DXP 2023.Q4.0-2023.Q4.4, 2023.Q3.1-2023.Q3.8, and 7.4 GA through update 92.
💻 Affected Systems
- Liferay Portal
- Liferay DXP
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Authenticated attacker steals administrator session cookies, gains administrative privileges, and takes full control of the Liferay instance.
Likely Case
Authenticated user with content creation privileges steals other users' session cookies, leading to account compromise and potential data theft.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output encoding, the attack fails to execute malicious scripts, resulting in no impact.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access and knowledge of web content structure creation. No public exploit code available.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Liferay Portal 7.4.3.112+, Liferay DXP 2023.Q4.5+, 2023.Q3.9+, 7.4 update 93+
Vendor Advisory: https://liferay.dev/portal/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/jekt/content/CVE-2025-43812
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Backup your Liferay instance. 2. Apply the appropriate patch from Liferay's customer portal. 3. Verify the patch applied correctly by checking version. 4. Test web content functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Filter
allImplement server-side input validation to sanitize web content structure name fields.
Implement custom servlet filter or hook to sanitize input in com.liferay.dynamic.data.mapping.model.DDMStructure
Permission Restriction
allTemporarily restrict permissions for creating/editing web content structures to trusted administrators only.
Navigate to Control Panel > Roles > [Role] > Define Permissions > Site Administration > Content > Web Content > Structure > Remove ADD_STRUCTURE and UPDATE permissions
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to prevent script execution from untrusted sources.
- Enable XSS protection headers (X-XSS-Protection) and input validation at application layer.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Liferay version via Control Panel > Server Administration > Properties > liferay.version or via System Settings.Check Version:
Check liferay.home/portal-ext.properties or via Control Panel > Server AdministrationVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is updated to patched version and test XSS payload in web content structure name field shows sanitized output.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to /api/jsonws/ddmstructure/add-structure or update-structure endpoints with script tags in parameters
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by structure creation activity
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing <script> tags in structure name parameters
- Outbound connections to suspicious domains following structure updates
SIEM Query:
source="liferay.log" AND ("add-structure" OR "update-structure") AND ("<script>" OR "javascript:" OR "onerror=")