CVE-2021-29047: Release.portal.bom Liferay Portal And Liferay DXP Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-9mxg-p873-6793
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-287
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-29047 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) liferay portal and liferay dxp vulnerability (CWE-287: Improper Authentication) affecting Release.portal.bom libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves liferay portal and liferay dxp fails to invalidate captcha answers after use. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 7.3.6, 7.3.10.fp1.

CVE-2021-29047 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-29047
GHSA Identifier GHSA-9mxg-p873-6793
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-287: Improper Authentication
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-2021-29047

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: 7.3.6 
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.liferay.portal</groupId>
    <artifactId>release.portal.bom</artifactId>
    <version>7.3.6</version>
</dependency>
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom fixed: 7.3.10.fp1 
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.liferay.portal</groupId>
    <artifactId>release.dxp.bom</artifactId>
    <version>7.3.10.fp1</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-2021-29047, 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 7.3.6), 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-287: Improper Authentication, where when an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct. 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 SimpleCaptcha implementation in Liferay Portal 7.3.4, 7.3.5 and Liferay DXP 7.3 before fix pack 1 does not invalidate CAPTCHA answers after it is used, which allows remote attackers to repeatedly perform actions protected by a CAPTCHA challenge by reusing the same CAPTCHA answer.

CVE-2021-29047 Affected Release.portal.bom Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
7.3.67.3.10.fp1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom
maven/com.liferay.portal/release.portal.bom
Maven
≥ 7.3.4
< 7.3.6
7.3.6
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom
maven/com.liferay.portal/release.dxp.bom
Maven
< 7.3.10.fp1
7.3.10.fp1

References

NVD — CVE-2021-29047 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-29047
Release.portal.bom Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/liferay/liferay-portal
Release.portal.bom Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20210524180455/https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/HbL5mxmVrnXW/content/id/120743467
liferay.com WEB
http://liferay.com

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-29047?
CVE-2021-29047 is a security vulnerability in Release.portal.bom involving Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP Fails to Invalidate CAPTCHA Answers After Use under CWE-287: Improper Authentication.
Which Release.portal.bom versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 7.3.6, 7.3.10.fp1 across affected packages: com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom, com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom.
What version fixes CVE-2021-29047?
Upgrading to 7.3.6, 7.3.10.fp1 (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 7.3.6. Upgrade your dependency to 7.3.6 or later.
Is release.dxp.bom affected?
Yes, com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom is affected in releases prior to 7.3.10.fp1. Upgrade your dependency to 7.3.10.fp1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-29047?
CVE-2021-29047 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-2021-29047?
CVE-2021-29047 is classified under CWE-287: Improper Authentication (When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2021-29047?
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-9mxg-p873-6793",
  "modified" : "2025-05-14T07:43:28Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-24T19:02:32Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-29047" ],
  "summary" : "Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP Fails to Invalidate CAPTCHA Answers After Use",
  "details" : "The SimpleCaptcha implementation in Liferay Portal 7.3.4, 7.3.5 and Liferay DXP 7.3 before fix pack 1 does not invalidate CAPTCHA answers after it is used, which allows remote attackers to repeatedly perform actions protected by a CAPTCHA challenge by reusing the same CAPTCHA answer.",
  "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" : "7.3.4"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.3.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.3.10.fp1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-29047"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/liferay/liferay-portal"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20210524180455/https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/HbL5mxmVrnXW/content/id/120743467"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://liferay.com"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-287" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-05-14T07:43:27Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-05-16T16:15:00Z"
  }
}