CVE-2020-15842
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedLiferay Portal before 7.3.0, and Liferay DXP 7.0 before fix pack 90, 7.1 before fix pack 17, and 7.2 before fix pack 5, allows man-in-the-middle attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted serialized payloads, because of insecure deserialization.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceLifter Portal and DXP versions prior to 7.3.0 and the specified fix packs contain an insecure deserialization vulnerability. Attackers performing man-in-the-middle attacks can inject crafted serialized Java payloads that get deserialized without proper validation, leading to arbitrary code execution on the affected server.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 7.0= 7.1= 7.2< 7.3.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Lifer installationLook for Lifer Portal or DXP by checking for Lifer-specific directories (like liferay-portal or Lifer), processes named 'Lifer' or 'LPS', or check application server configurations where Lifer is deployed.Affected if Lifer Portal or DXP is installed on the server.
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Determine installed Lifer versionLocate the portal version file or check the Lifer Control Panel under 'Server Administration' > 'Information' to find the exact portal version number.Affected if The version cannot be determined or is not visible in standard locations.
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Compare version against affected rangeReview the discovered version against these affected ranges: Lifer DXP versions 7.0, 7.1, or 7.2; Lifer Portal versions earlier than 7.3.0. Note the exact version number for comparison.Affected if The installed version is 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, or any version earlier than 7.3.0.
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Check if deserialization handling is accessibleVerify whether the server processes serialized Java objects from external sources. This typically occurs through web services, API endpoints, or cluster communication that accepts serialized payloads.Affected if The server accepts or processes serialized Java objects from network requests without additional validation layers.
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Verify network transport securityConfirm whether internal traffic between clients and the Lifer server, or inter-server communication, is encrypted with TLS/SSL. Check server configuration files for enabled protocols and certificate usage.Affected if Network traffic to the Lifer server is unencrypted or uses outdated SSL protocols, allowing MITM interception.
A system is affected if Lifer Portal or DXP version 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, or any version earlier than 7.3.0 is installed and the server processes serialized Java objects over unencrypted network paths.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data7.3.0
Upgrade Liferay Portal to version 7.3.0 or later, and apply the appropriate fix packs (90+ for 7.0, 17+ for 7.1, 5+ for 7.2) for DXP. Additionally, enforce TLS/SSL to prevent MITM interception of serialized data in transit.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-15842 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-15842 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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