CVE-2023-40191: Release.portal.bom Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-468x-frcm-ghx6
CVSS 9.0
CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-40191 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.0) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Release.portal.bom libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves liferay portal and liferay dxp vulnerable to reflected cross-site scripting. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 7.4.3.98, 2023.Q3.6.

CVE-2023-40191 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-40191
GHSA Identifier GHSA-468x-frcm-ghx6
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.0
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Release.portal.bom
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.0

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Changed (S:C)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2023-40191

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Release.portal.bom dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom fixed: 7.4.3.98
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.liferay.portal</groupId>
    <artifactId>release.portal.bom</artifactId>
    <version>7.4.3.98</version>
</dependency>
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom fixed: 2023.Q3.6
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.liferay.portal</groupId>
    <artifactId>release.dxp.bom</artifactId>
    <version>2023.Q3.6</version>
</dependency>
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom fixed: Latest secure release
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.liferay.portal</groupId>
    <artifactId>release.dxp.bom</artifactId>
    <version>Latest secure release</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.liferay.portal

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2023-40191, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.liferay.portal

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Release.portal.bom in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 7.4.3.98), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.liferay.portal command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'), where the product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users. In Release.portal.bom, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the instance settings for Accounts in Liferay Portal 7.4.3.44 through 7.4.3.97, and Liferay DXP 2023.Q3 before patch 6, and 7.4 update 44 through 92 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted payload injected into the “Blocked Email Domains” text field

CVE-2023-40191 Affected Release.portal.bom Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
7.4.3.982023.Q3.6
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom
Maven
≥ 7.4.3.44
< 7.4.3.98
7.4.3.98
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom
Maven
≥ 2023.Q3
< 2023.Q3.6
2023.Q3.6
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom
Maven
≥ 7.4.13.u44
≤ 7.4.13.u92

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-40191?
CVE-2023-40191 is a security vulnerability in Release.portal.bom involving Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP vulnerable to reflected Cross-site Scripting under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Release.portal.bom versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 7.4.3.98, 2023.Q3.6 across affected packages: com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom, com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom.
What version fixes CVE-2023-40191?
Upgrading to 7.4.3.98, 2023.Q3.6 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is release.portal.bom affected?
Yes, com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom is affected in releases prior to 7.4.3.98. Upgrade your dependency to 7.4.3.98 or later.
Is release.dxp.bom affected?
Yes, com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom is affected in releases prior to 2023.Q3.6, Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to 2023.Q3.6, Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-40191?
CVE-2023-40191 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.0 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-40191?
CVE-2023-40191 is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') (The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2023-40191?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.liferay.portal'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-468x-frcm-ghx6",
  "modified" : "2025-01-28T22:23:07Z",
  "published" : "2024-02-21T03:30:37Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-40191" ],
  "summary" : "Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP vulnerable to reflected Cross-site Scripting",
  "details" : "Reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the instance settings for Accounts in Liferay Portal 7.4.3.44 through 7.4.3.97, and Liferay DXP 2023.Q3 before patch 6, and 7.4 update 44 through 92 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted payload injected into the “Blocked Email Domains” text field",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "7.4.3.44"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.4.3.98"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 7.4.3.97"
    }
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2023.Q3"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2023.Q3.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "7.4.13.u44"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "7.4.13.u92"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-40191"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/liferay/liferay-portal"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://liferay.dev/portal/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/jekt/content/cve-2023-40191"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-02-21T23:30:00Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-02-21T03:15:07Z"
  }
}