CVE-2025-43813
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 · uneditedPossible path traversal vulnerability and denial-of-service in the ComboServlet in Liferay Portal 7.4.0 through 7.4.3.107, and older unsupported versions, and Liferay DXP 2023.Q4.0 through 2023.Q4.4, 2023.Q3.1 through 2023.Q3.8, 7.4 GA through update 92, 7.3 GA through update 35, and older unsupported versions allows remote attackers to access arbitrary CSS and JSS files and load the files multiple times via the query string in a 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 confidenceThe ComboServlet in Liferays portal and DXP products contains a path traversal vulnerability allowing remote attackers to access arbitrary CSS and JS files via manipulated query string parameters. Additionally, the vulnerability enables a denial-of-service condition through repeated file loading.
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< 7.3>= 2023.q3.1, < 2023.q3.9>= 2023.Q4.0, < 2023.Q4.5= 7.3= 7.4>= 7.3.0, <= 7.3.7>= 7.4.0, < 7.4.3.108CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Liferay Portal/DXP versionCheck the portal version via the control panel (Server > Information) or by inspecting the portal-ext.properties file for the 'portal.version' propertyAffected if Version is >= 7.3.0 and <= 7.3.7, OR >= 7.4.0 and < 7.4.3.108 for Liferay Portal; or matches DXP versions < 7.3, 2023.q3.1 to < 2023.q3.9, 2023.Q4.0 to < 2023.Q4.5, 7.3, or 7.4
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Confirm ComboServlet is enabledVerify the ComboServlet servlet is loaded by checking web.xml or the OSGi console for the servlet mapping at /combo (or /c/portal/combo)Affected if ComboServlet is mapped and accessible at the /combo endpoint
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Test path traversal via ComboServletSend a request to the ComboServlet endpoint with a manipulated path such as /c/portal/combo?%2e%2e%2f%2e%2e%2f%2e%2e%2fetc/passwd or similar path traversal sequences in the 'path' query parameterAffected if The server returns content from files outside the intended resource directory, indicating successful path traversal
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Check for resource exhaustion behaviorSend repeated requests to ComboServlet with varying path parameters to observe memory or CPU usage patternsAffected if Repeated requests cause significant resource consumption or service degradation indicative of DoS
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Review access logs for suspicious ComboServlet accessExamine web server or application logs for unusual query patterns to ComboServlet containing traversal sequences (%2e%2e, .., encoded slashes)Affected if Logs show requests with path traversal attempts to ComboServlet endpoint
A system is affected if it runs a Liferay Portal or DXP version within the affected ranges AND has ComboServlet accessible, allowing arbitrary file retrieval via path traversal in the URL query parameters.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped7.37.4.3.1082023.q3.9
Upgrade to the latest Liferays version or apply the specific vendor patches for affected versions (7.4.3.108+, 2023.Q4.5+, etc.) to remediate both the path traversal and DoS vectors in ComboServlet.
LPortal: 7.4.3.108+ or 7.3.8+; DXP: 2023.Q4.5+, 2023.Q3.9+, or post-7.3-U35
- 1. Identify the exact Lifecycle product (LPortal or DXP), version, and update version currently running using the Lifecycle Server Administration panel or the release.info API endpoint.
- 2. For Liferay Portal 7.4.x deployments: plan to upgrade to version 7.4.3.108 or later.
- 3. For Liferay Portal 7.3.x deployments: plan to upgrade to version 7.3.8 or later (post-update 35).
- 4. For Liferay DXP 2023.Q4.x deployments: upgrade to version 2023.Q4.5 or later.
- 5. For Liferay DXP 2023.Q3.x deployments: upgrade to version 2023.Q3.9 or later.
- 6. For Liferay DXP 7.3.x (GA through update 35): upgrade to a version beyond update 35 as provided in the official fix.
- 7. Test the upgrade in a staging environment before deploying to production, verifying the ComboServlet responds correctly and path traversal attempts are blocked.
- 8. Deploy the fixed version to production and validate that the vulnerability is remediated.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-43813 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-43813 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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