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Digital Experience PlatformApplication · Liferay

CVE-2023-33938

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-05-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7.3.7 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the App Builder module's custom object details page in Liferay Portal 7.3.0 through 7.4.0, and Liferay DXP 7.3 before update 14 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted payload injected into an App Builder custom object's `Name` field.

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

A stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in Lifer Portal and DXP's App Builder module. The custom object's Name field does not properly sanitize user input, allowing malicious JavaScript or HTML to be stored and executed when other users view the object details page.

MitigationUpgrade to Lifer DXP 7.3 update 14 or later, or Lifer Portal 7.4.1 or later. Alternatively, implement output encoding/sanitization on the Name field display in the App Builder module.

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:= 7.3
Liferay PortalApplication
Affected:>= 7.3.0, <= 7.3.7= 7.4.0

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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

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. Check Lifer Portal or DXP version
    Log into the Lifer Control Panel, go to Configuration > Server Administration > Product Information to view the installed version, or check the portal.version property in portal-ext.properties
    Affected if The version is 7.3.0 through 7.3.7, exactly 7.3, or exactly 7.4.0
  2. Confirm App Builder module is accessible
    Navigate to Control Panel > Apps > App Builder to verify the module is installed and available
    Affected if App Builder is installed and the user can access custom object definitions
  3. Inspect custom object Name fields for unsanitized content
    In App Builder, open each custom object definition and review the Name field entries, checking for unescaped HTML tags or JavaScript code in the stored values
    Affected if Any custom object has a Name field containing raw HTML or JavaScript that would execute when the object details page is viewed

You are affected if your Lifer Portal or DXP version falls within 7.3.0-7.3.7, 7.3, or 7.4.0, the App Builder module is enabled, and custom objects exist with malicious script content in their Name fields.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 7.3.7
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Lifer DXP 7.3 update 14 or later, or Lifer Portal 7.4.1 or later. Alternatively, implement output encoding/sanitization on the Name field display in the App Builder module.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Lifford DXP 7.3 Update 14+ or Lifford Portal 7.4.1+

  1. 1. Identify the current Lifford DXP/Portal version by checking the Lifford Dashboard or server configuration
  2. 2. For Lifford DXP 7.3: Upgrade to Update 14 or later fix pack (e.g., Lifford DXP 7.3 Fix Pack 14+)
  3. 3. For Lifford Portal 7.4.0: Upgrade to Lifford Portal 7.4.1 or later
  4. 4. For Lifford Portal 7.3.x (7.3.0-7.3.7): Apply Fix Pack 14 or later
  5. 5. After upgrade, verify the App Builder module's custom object Name field properly sanitizes input
  6. 6. Test that existing custom objects load correctly after the patch
Caveat Review Lifford release notes for DXP 7.3 Update 14/Portal 7.4.1 for any deprecation or breaking changes; test custom object workflows in non-production first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Digital Experience Platform Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2023-33938 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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