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Digital Experience PlatformApplication · Liferay

CVE-2023-33940

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-05-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7.4.3.30 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 IFrame type Remote Apps in Liferay Portal 7.4.0 through 7.4.3.30, and Liferay DXP 7.4 before update 31 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the Remote App's IFrame URL.

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 L Portal and DXP's Remote App feature, specifically within the IFrame type. Attackers can inject malicious JavaScript or HTML through the IFrame URL parameter, which is then executed when users access the affected Remote App.

MitigationUpdate L Portal to version 7.4.3.31 or later, or L DXP to update 31 or later. Additionally, implement strict input validation on the Remote App IFrame URL field to sanitize malicious payloads before rendering.

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:= 7.4
Liferay PortalApplication
Affected:>= 7.4.0, <= 7.4.3.30

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 L Portal version
    Access the L Portal Control Panel or check the portal-ext.properties file for the version number. The version is typically displayed in the Control Panel under Configuration > Server Administration or can be found in the LIFERAY_HOME/tomcat/webapps/ROOT/WEB-INF/lportal-release.properties file.
    Affected if The installed version is 7.4.0 through 7.4.3.30 inclusive (exact match to the affected range)
  2. Verify Remote App feature is enabled
    Navigate to Control Panel > Configuration > Remote Apps in L Portal. Check if any Remote App entries exist in the system.
    Affected if Remote Apps are configured and active in the environment
  3. Identify IFrame type Remote Apps
    In the Remote Apps list, examine each entry and check the Type column. Look specifically for entries where Type is set to IFrame.
    Affected if Any Remote App is configured with IFrame type selected
  4. Inspect IFrame URL configuration
    Click on each IFrame-type Remote App to view its details. Locate the URL field in the configuration and examine the configured URL value for any suspicious patterns or injected content.
    Affected if The IFrame URL field contains unsanitized or injected content (note: this requires manual review of the actual URL values configured)

The environment is affected if L Portal or DXP version 7.4.0 through 7.4.3.30 is running AND at least one Remote App with IFrame type is configured with a potentially malicious URL.

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 7.4.3.30
Interim mitigation

Update L Portal to version 7.4.3.31 or later, or L DXP to update 31 or later. Additionally, implement strict input validation on the Remote App IFrame URL field to sanitize malicious payloads before rendering.

Recommended fix High confidence

Liferay Portal 7.4.3.31+ or Liferay DXP 7.4 update 31+

  1. 1. Backup your current Liferay Portal or DXP installation and database before upgrading.
  2. 2. Download Liferay Portal 7.4.3.31 or later from the official Liferay repository.
  3. 3. For Liferay DXP 7.4 users, download and install update 31 or later.
  4. 4. Deploy the new version following the standard Liferay upgrade documentation.
  5. 5. After upgrade, verify that the Remote Apps functionality works correctly and the IFrame URL field properly sanitizes input.

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-2023-33940 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data