CVE-2021-33325: Release.portal.bom Liferay Portal And Liferay DXP Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-6c88-gvxw-f5hg
CVSS 4.9
CWE-312
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-33325 is a MODERATE (CVSS 4.9) liferay portal and liferay dxp vulnerability (CWE-312: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information) affecting Release.portal.bom libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves liferay portal and liferay dxp stores user passwords in cleartext. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 7.0.10.fp93, 7.1.10.fp19, 7.2.10.fp7.

CVE-2021-33325 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-33325
GHSA Identifier GHSA-6c88-gvxw-f5hg
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 4.9
CWE Classification CWE-312: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information
Affected Product Release.portal.bom
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 4.9

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

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required High (PR:H)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2021-33325

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: Latest secure release
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.liferay.portal</groupId>
    <artifactId>release.portal.bom</artifactId>
    <version>Latest secure release</version>
</dependency>
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom fixed: 7.0.10.fp93
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.liferay.portal</groupId>
    <artifactId>release.dxp.bom</artifactId>
    <version>7.0.10.fp93</version>
</dependency>
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom fixed: 7.1.10.fp19
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.liferay.portal</groupId>
    <artifactId>release.dxp.bom</artifactId>
    <version>7.1.10.fp19</version>
</dependency>
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom fixed: 7.2.10.fp7
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.liferay.portal</groupId>
    <artifactId>release.dxp.bom</artifactId>
    <version>7.2.10.fp7</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-2021-33325, 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 7.0.10.fp93), 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-312: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information, where the product stores sensitive information in cleartext within a resource that might be accessible to another control sphere. 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

The Portal Workflow module in Liferay Portal 7.3.2 and earlier, and Liferay DXP 7.0 before fix pack 93, 7.1 before fix pack 19, and 7.2 before fix pack 7, user's clear text passwords are stored in the database if workflow is enabled for user creation, which allows attackers with access to the database to obtain a user's password.

CVE-2021-33325 Affected Release.portal.bom Versions

4 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
7.0.10.fp937.1.10.fp197.2.10.fp7
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom
Maven
≥ 7.3.0
≤ 7.3.2
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom
Maven
< 7.0.10.fp93
7.0.10.fp93
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom
Maven
≥ 7.1.0
< 7.1.10.fp19
7.1.10.fp19
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom
Maven
≥ 7.2.0
< 7.2.10.fp7
7.2.10.fp7

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-33325?
CVE-2021-33325 is a security vulnerability in Release.portal.bom involving Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP Stores User Passwords in Cleartext under CWE-312: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information.
Which Release.portal.bom versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 7.0.10.fp93, 7.1.10.fp19, 7.2.10.fp7 across affected packages: com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom, com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom.
What version fixes CVE-2021-33325?
Upgrading to 7.0.10.fp93, 7.1.10.fp19, 7.2.10.fp7 (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 Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
Is release.dxp.bom affected?
Yes, com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom is affected in releases prior to 7.0.10.fp93, 7.1.10.fp19, 7.2.10.fp7. Upgrade your dependency to 7.0.10.fp93, 7.1.10.fp19, 7.2.10.fp7 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-33325?
CVE-2021-33325 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.9 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-33325?
CVE-2021-33325 is classified under CWE-312: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information (The product stores sensitive information in cleartext within a resource that might be accessible to another control sphere.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2021-33325?
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-6c88-gvxw-f5hg",
  "modified" : "2025-05-14T07:50:26Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-24T19:09:46Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-33325" ],
  "summary" : "Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP Stores User Passwords in Cleartext",
  "details" : "The Portal Workflow module in Liferay Portal 7.3.2 and earlier, and Liferay DXP 7.0 before fix pack 93, 7.1 before fix pack 19, and 7.2 before fix pack 7, user's clear text passwords are stored in the database if workflow is enabled for user creation, which allows attackers with access to the database to obtain a user's password.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "7.3.0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "7.3.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.0.10.fp93"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "7.1.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.1.10.fp19"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "7.2.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.2.10.fp7"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-33325"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/liferay/liferay-portal"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://issues.liferay.com/browse/LPE-17042"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/HbL5mxmVrnXW/content/id/120748389"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-312" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-05-14T07:50:26Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-08-03T19:15:00Z"
  }
}