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Digital Experience PlatformApplication · Liferay

CVE-2024-38002

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.4.3.112 / 2023.q3.9 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 workflow component in Liferay Portal 7.3.2 through 7.4.3.111, and Liferay DXP 2023.Q4.0 through 2023.Q4.5, 2023.Q3.1 through 2023.Q3.8, 7.4 GA through update 92 and 7.3 GA through update 36 does not properly check user permissions before updating a workflow definition, which allows remote authenticated users to modify workflow definitions and execute arbitrary code (RCE) via the headless API.

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

Liferoy Portal/DXP workflow component has an authorization bypass where proper permission checks are missing before allowing updates to workflow definitions via the headless API. This enables any authenticated user to modify workflow definitions and achieve remote code execution.

MitigationApply the available Liferoy updates (update 93 for 7.4 or update 37 for 7.3, or later) that address this vulnerability, or upgrade to a patched version. Restrict API access until patches are applied.

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:>= 2023.q3.1, < 2023.q3.9>= 2023.q4.0, < 2023.q4.6= 7.3= 7.4
Liferay PortalApplication
Affected:>= 7.3.2, <= 7.3.7>= 7.4.0, < 7.4.3.112

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

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

  1. Identify Liferoy product and version
    Log into the Liferoy Control Panel as an administrator, navigate to Control Panel > Configuration > Server Administration, and check the Version information. Alternatively, check the portal-ext.properties file or the liferay-version.properties file in the Liferoy installation directory.
    Affected if The version falls within any of these ranges: DXP 2023.q3.1 through 2023.q3.8, DXP 2023.q4.0 through 2023.q4.5, DXP 7.3, DXP 7.4, Portal 7.3.2 through 7.3.7, or Portal 7.4.0 through 7.4.3.111.
  2. Confirm workflow engine is enabled
    Navigate to Control Panel > Configuration > Workflow > Workflow Definition. Verify if workflow definitions can be viewed or listed. Alternatively, check the portal-ext.properties file for the property 'workflow.enabled=true' or check via the Gogo shell command 'lb | grep workflow'.
    Affected if The workflow engine is enabled and accessible in the Liferoy instance.
  3. Verify headless API endpoint accessibility
    Access the Liferoy headless API documentation at /o/api or attempt to reach the workflow-related headless endpoints such as /o/workflow/v1.0. Test with an authenticated but low-privilege user account.
    Affected if The headless API endpoints are reachable and accept authenticated requests.
  4. Check workflow definition permissions
    As an authenticated non-administrator user, attempt to use the headless API to modify a workflow definition via POST/PUT to /o/workflow/v1.0/workflowDefinitions. Monitor server logs for successful modifications or examine if the API call returns a 200 OK response instead of a 403 Forbidden.
    Affected if An authenticated user without administrator privileges can successfully modify workflow definitions through the headless API.

If the installed Liferoy version is within the affected ranges AND the workflow engine is enabled AND the headless API is accessible, then the environment is vulnerable to unauthorized workflow modifications and potential remote code execution.

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 7.4.3.112 / 2023.q3.9 / 2023.q4.6 or later
Fixed in 7.4.3.1122023.q3.92023.q4.6
Interim mitigation

Apply the available Liferoy updates (update 93 for 7.4 or update 37 for 7.3, or later) that address this vulnerability, or upgrade to a patched version. Restrict API access until patches are applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Liferay DXP/Portal to fixed releases: 2023.Q3.9, 2023.Q4.6, 7.4.3.112, or latest stable respectively

  1. 1. Identify the exact Liferay product and version currently running (Portal or DXP, and specific version number)
  2. 2. For Liferay DXP 2023.Q3.x: upgrade to version 2023.Q3.9 or later
  3. 3. For Liferay DXP 2023.Q4.x: upgrade to version 2023.Q4.6 or later
  4. 4. For Liferay DXP 7.3: upgrade to a version after update 36 (contact Liferay support for specific fixed release)
  5. 5. For Liferay DXP 7.4: upgrade to version 7.4.3.112 or later (which includes update 93 or later)
  6. 6. For Liferay Portal 7.3.x: upgrade to a version beyond 7.3.7 (ideally to the latest 7.3.x stable release)
  7. 7. For Liferay Portal 7.4.x: upgrade to version 7.4.3.112 or later
  8. 8. After upgrade, verify the workflow component permissions are correctly enforced via the headless API
Caveat Review Liferay upgrade notes for your specific version jump as there may be breaking changes between major versions; test thoroughly in staging before production deployment

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
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,120
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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-2024-38002 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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