CVE-2022-42123: Release.portal.bom Path Traversal Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-hffx-r282-w2g9
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-42123 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting Release.portal.bom libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves path traversal in liferay portal. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 7.4.3.19.

CVE-2022-42123 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-42123
GHSA Identifier GHSA-hffx-r282-w2g9
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Affected Product Release.portal.bom
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2022-42123

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: 7.4.3.19 
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.liferay.portal</groupId>
    <artifactId>release.portal.bom</artifactId>
    <version>7.4.3.19</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-2022-42123, 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 7.4.3.19), 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-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal'), where the product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. 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

A Zip slip vulnerability in the Elasticsearch Connector in Liferay Portal 7.3.3 through 7.4.3.18, and Liferay DXP 7.3 before update 6, and 7.4 before update 19 allows attackers to create or overwrite existing files on the filesystem via the installation of a malicious Elasticsearch Sidecar plugin.

CVE-2022-42123 Affected Release.portal.bom Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
7.4.3.19
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom
maven/com.liferay.portal/release.portal.bom
Maven
≥ 7.3.3
< 7.4.3.19
7.4.3.19

References

NVD — CVE-2022-42123 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-42123
issues.liferay.com/browse/lpe-17518 WEB
https://issues.liferay.com/browse/LPE-17518
Release.portal.bom Security Information SECURITY
https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/HbL5mxmVrnXW/content/cve-2022-42123
liferay.com WEB
http://liferay.com

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-42123?
CVE-2022-42123 is a security vulnerability in Release.portal.bom involving Path Traversal in Liferay Portal under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
Which Release.portal.bom versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 7.4.3.19 across affected packages: com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom.
What version fixes CVE-2022-42123?
Upgrading to 7.4.3.19 (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 7.4.3.19. Upgrade your dependency to 7.4.3.19 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-42123?
CVE-2022-42123 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-42123?
CVE-2022-42123 is classified under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2022-42123?
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
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-hffx-r282-w2g9",
  "modified" : "2025-09-05T19:03:57Z",
  "published" : "2022-11-15T12:00:16Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-42123" ],
  "summary" : "Path Traversal in Liferay Portal",
  "details" : "A Zip slip vulnerability in the Elasticsearch Connector in Liferay Portal 7.3.3 through 7.4.3.18, and Liferay DXP 7.3 before update 6, and 7.4 before update 19 allows attackers to create or overwrite existing files on the filesystem via the installation of a malicious Elasticsearch Sidecar plugin.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "7.3.3"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.4.3.19"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-42123"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://issues.liferay.com/browse/LPE-17518"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/HbL5mxmVrnXW/content/cve-2022-42123"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://liferay.com"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-11-21T23:50:32Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-11-15T01:15:00Z"
  }
}