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Digital Experience PlatformApplication · Liferay

CVE-2021-33338

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7.3.2 or later.
See remediation →
82/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 · unedited
The Layout module in Liferay Portal 7.1.0 through 7.3.2, and Liferay DXP 7.1 before fix pack 19, and 7.2 before fix pack 6, exposes the CSRF token in URLs, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to obtain the token and conduct Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks via the p_auth parameter.

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 confidence

The Layout module in Liferay Portal 7.1.0-7.3.2 and Liferay DXP 7.1/7.2 exposes the CSRF authentication token (p_auth) in URL parameters. This allows man-in-the-middle attackers on the same network to intercept the token from URLs and then craft malicious forged requests that appear to originate from an authenticated user.

MitigationApply the appropriate fix packs (fix pack 19 for DXP 7.1, fix pack 6 for DXP 7.2) or upgrade Liferay Portal beyond version 7.3.2. Alternatively, implement network-level protections (HTTPS enforcement, VPN) to mitigate man-in-the-middle attacks.

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
Digital Experience PlatformApplication
Affected:= 7.1= 7.2
Liferay PortalApplication
Affected:>= 7.1.0, <= 7.3.2

CVSS 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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Lifter Portal version
    Check the portal's version by inspecting the WAR file manifest, the portal-properties file, or the Liferive Control Panel under Configuration > Server Administration > Product Information. The version is typically displayed in the UI footer or accessible via /c/portal/properties endpoint.
    Affected if The installed version is Liferive Portal 7.1.0 through 7.3.2 inclusive, or Liferive DXP 7.1 or 7.2.
  2. Verify CSRF token exposure in URLs
    Log into the portal as any user, navigate through the Control Panel or site pages, and inspect browser developer tools Network tab. Look for URL parameters containing 'p_auth' in requests. Example: /group/control_panel/manage?p_auth=tokenvalue
    Affected if The p_auth parameter appears in URLs after user authentication, indicating the CSRF token is being transmitted via URL query strings rather than only in headers or request bodies.
  3. Confirm HTTPS enforcement status
    Inspect the portal.properties or portal-ext.properties configuration file for the setting 'web.server.protocol=https'. Also check the application server or load balancer configuration for redirect rules enforcing HTTPS.
    Affected if HTTPS is not enforced (protocol set to HTTP or not configured), meaning the p_auth token could be transmitted in cleartext over the network.
  4. Assess network exposure
    Review network topology to determine if users access the portal over untrusted networks (public WiFi, shared networks) where man-in-the-middle attacks are feasible. Check if VPN or network-level encryption is required for access.
    Affected if Users can access the portal over unencrypted network connections where attackers could intercept URL parameters.

You are affected if your Liferive installation is Portal 7.1.0-7.3.2 or DXP 7.1/7.2 AND the p_auth CSRF token appears in URL parameters AND the portal is accessible over unencrypted HTTP connections.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 7.3.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate fix packs (fix pack 19 for DXP 7.1, fix pack 6 for DXP 7.2) or upgrade Liferay Portal beyond version 7.3.2. Alternatively, implement network-level protections (HTTPS enforcement, VPN) to mitigate man-in-the-middle attacks.

Fix this in Digital Experience Platform Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-33338 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data