CVE-2021-29040: Release.portal.bom Liferay Portal And Liferay DXP Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-87x7-pwrx-jch7
CVSS 5.3
CWE-209
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-29040 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.3) liferay portal and liferay dxp vulnerability (CWE-209: Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information) affecting Release.portal.bom libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves liferay portal and liferay dxp reveals data via overly verbose error messages. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 7.3.5, 7.0.10.fp97, 7.1.10.fp20, 7.2.10.fp10.

CVE-2021-29040 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-29040
GHSA Identifier GHSA-87x7-pwrx-jch7
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.3
CWE Classification CWE-209: Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information
Affected Product Release.portal.bom
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.3

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:L/I:N/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 Low (C:L)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2021-29040

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: 7.3.5
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.liferay.portal</groupId>
    <artifactId>release.portal.bom</artifactId>
    <version>7.3.5</version>
</dependency>
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom fixed: 7.0.10.fp97
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.liferay.portal</groupId>
    <artifactId>release.dxp.bom</artifactId>
    <version>7.0.10.fp97</version>
</dependency>
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom fixed: 7.1.10.fp20
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.liferay.portal</groupId>
    <artifactId>release.dxp.bom</artifactId>
    <version>7.1.10.fp20</version>
</dependency>
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom fixed: 7.2.10.fp10
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.liferay.portal</groupId>
    <artifactId>release.dxp.bom</artifactId>
    <version>7.2.10.fp10</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-2021-29040, 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 7.3.5), 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-209: Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information, where the product generates an error message that includes sensitive information about its environment, users, or associated data. 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 JSON web services in Liferay Portal 7.3.4 and earlier, and Liferay DXP 7.0 before fix pack 97, 7.1 before fix pack 20 and 7.2 before fix pack 10 may provide overly verbose error messages, which allows remote attackers to use the contents of error messages to help launch another, more focused attacks via crafted inputs.

CVE-2021-29040 Affected Release.portal.bom Versions

4 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
7.3.57.0.10.fp977.1.10.fp207.2.10.fp10
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom
Maven
< 7.3.5
7.3.5
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom
Maven
< 7.0.10.fp97
7.0.10.fp97
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom
Maven
≥ 7.1.0
< 7.1.10.fp20
7.1.10.fp20
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom
Maven
≥ 7.2.0
< 7.2.10.fp10
7.2.10.fp10

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-29040?
CVE-2021-29040 is a security vulnerability in Release.portal.bom involving Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP Reveals Data via Overly Verbose Error Messages under CWE-209: Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information.
Which Release.portal.bom versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 7.3.5, 7.0.10.fp97, 7.1.10.fp20, 7.2.10.fp10 across affected packages: com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom, com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom.
What version fixes CVE-2021-29040?
Upgrading to 7.3.5, 7.0.10.fp97, 7.1.10.fp20, 7.2.10.fp10 (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 7.3.5. Upgrade your dependency to 7.3.5 or later.
Is release.dxp.bom affected?
Yes, com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom is affected in releases prior to 7.0.10.fp97, 7.1.10.fp20, 7.2.10.fp10. Upgrade your dependency to 7.0.10.fp97, 7.1.10.fp20, 7.2.10.fp10 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-29040?
CVE-2021-29040 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-29040?
CVE-2021-29040 is classified under CWE-209: Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information (The product generates an error message that includes sensitive information about its environment, users, or associated data.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2021-29040?
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-87x7-pwrx-jch7",
  "modified" : "2025-05-28T20:03:14Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-24T19:02:32Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-29040" ],
  "summary" : "Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP Reveals Data via Overly Verbose Error Messages",
  "details" : "The JSON web services in Liferay Portal 7.3.4 and earlier, and Liferay DXP 7.0 before fix pack 97, 7.1 before fix pack 20 and 7.2 before fix pack 10 may provide overly verbose error messages, which allows remote attackers to use the contents of error messages to help launch another, more focused attacks via crafted inputs.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.3.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.0.10.fp97"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "7.1.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.1.10.fp20"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "7.2.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.2.10.fp10"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-29040"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/liferay/liferay-portal"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/HbL5mxmVrnXW/content/id/120743429"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20220828222656/https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/HbL5mxmVrnXW/content/id/120743429"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://liferay.com"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-209" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-05-28T20:03:14Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-05-16T16:15:00Z"
  }
}