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Digital Experience PlatformApplication · Liferay

CVE-2023-33944

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-05-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7.4.3.68 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 Layout module in Liferay Portal 7.3.4 through 7.4.3.68, and Liferay DXP 7.3 before update 24, and 7.4 before update 69 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted payload injected into a container type layout fragment's `URL` text 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 reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in Lifer Portal and DXP's Layout module. The vulnerability stems from insufficient sanitization of user input in the URL text field of container-type layout fragments, allowing attackers to inject malicious HTML or JavaScript that executes in victim browsers.

MitigationUpgrade to Lifer Portal 7.4.3.69+, Lifer DXP 7.3 update 24+, or DXP 7.4 update 69+ to receive the patch. Additionally, implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers as a defense-in-depth measure against XSS 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:>= 7.4.0, <= 7.4.3.68= 7.3
Liferay PortalApplication
Affected:>= 7.3.4, <= 7.3.7

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. Identify Lifer Portal or DXP version
    Locate the version file in the Lifer installation directory (e.g., portal-impl.jar version manifest, or log in to the Control Panel > Configuration > Server Administration > Platform Information)
    Affected if The installed version is 7.3.4 through 7.3.7 (Portal) or 7.4.0 through 7.4.3.68 (DXP) or exactly version 7.3 (DXP)
  2. Confirm Layout module is enabled
    Log into the Lifer Control Panel and navigate to Site Builder > Pages, or check if the layout module bundle is loaded in the OSGi console (telnet localhost 11311, then 'lb | grep layout')
    Affected if The Layout module is active and pages are manageable through Site Builder
  3. Identify container-type layout fragments in use
    Navigate to Site Builder > Page Fragments in the Control Panel, or inspect the database table fragmentcollection for fragment definitions with type 'container'
    Affected if Container-type layout fragments are defined or deployed in any site
  4. Check URL text field accessibility
    Edit any page with a container fragment, click the container, and locate the URL field in the configuration panel. Determine if this field accepts unsanitized input or is visible to non-admin users
    Affected if Users with page edit permissions can access the container URL configuration field

You are affected if your installed Lifer Portal/DXP version falls within the affected ranges AND container-type layout fragments with accessible URL fields are in use on your platform.

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 7.4.3.68
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Lifer Portal 7.4.3.69+, Lifer DXP 7.3 update 24+, or DXP 7.4 update 69+ to receive the patch. Additionally, implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers as a defense-in-depth measure against XSS attacks.

Recommended fix High confidence

LPortal 7.3.8 GA8+ | L DXP 7.3 update 24+ | L DXP 7.4 update 69+

  1. 1. Identify the current Liferay product version by checking the Liferay Dashboard or the portal-admin interface
  2. 2. For LPortal 7.3.x (versions 7.3.4 through 7.3.7): Upgrade to LPortal 7.3.8 GA8 or later
  3. 3. For L DXP 7.3.x: Upgrade to L DXP 7.3 update 24 or later
  4. 4. For L DXP 7.4.x (versions 7.4.0 through 7.4.3.68): Upgrade to L DXP 7.4 update 69 or later
  5. 5. After upgrade, verify the fix by testing the container type layout fragment's URL field with a benign test payload to confirm XSS is blocked
  6. 6. Deploy the updated LPortal/DXP to all production environments
Caveat Review L release notes for breaking changes between current version and target upgrade version before deploying

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

Fix this in Digital Experience Platform Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2023-33944 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