CVE-2021-38267: Release.portal.bom Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability
MODERATECVE-2021-38267 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.4) 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 cross-site scripting (xss) in edit blog entry page. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 7.3.7-ga8, 7.3.10.fp2, 5.0.0.
CVE-2021-38267 at a Glance
Security Impact
CVSS: 5.4
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:L/I:L/A:N).
How to Fix CVE-2021-38267
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.
<dependency>
<groupId>com.liferay.portal</groupId>
<artifactId>release.portal.bom</artifactId>
<version>7.3.7-ga8</version>
</dependency><dependency>
<groupId>com.liferay.portal</groupId>
<artifactId>release.dxp.bom</artifactId>
<version>7.3.10.fp2</version>
</dependency><dependency>
<groupId>com.liferay</groupId>
<artifactId>com.liferay.frontend.js.web</artifactId>
<version>5.0.0</version>
</dependency>Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.liferay.portalHow to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2021-38267, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:
mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.liferay.portalAnalyze 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 7.3.7-ga8), 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
CVE-2021-38267 Affected Release.portal.bom Versions
3 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom
|
Maven |
≥ 7.3.2
< 7.3.7-ga8
|
7.3.7-ga8
|
|
com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom
|
Maven |
≥ 7.3.0
< 7.3.10.fp2
|
7.3.10.fp2
|
|
com.liferay:com.liferay.frontend.js.web
|
Maven |
< 5.0.0
|
5.0.0
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2021-38267?
Which Release.portal.bom versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2021-38267?
Is release.portal.bom affected?
Is release.dxp.bom affected?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-38267?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-38267?
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2021-38267?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-r39x-3qq4-gxmr",
"modified" : "2025-07-15T17:33:53Z",
"published" : "2022-03-04T00:00:20Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-38267" ],
"summary" : "Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP vulnerable to cross-site scripting (XSS) in edit blog entry page",
"details" : "Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Blogs module's edit blog entry page in Liferay Portal 7.3.2 through 7.3.6, and Liferay DXP 7.3 before fix pack 2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the _com_liferay_blogs_web_portlet_BlogsAdminPortlet_title and _com_liferay_blogs_web_portlet_BlogsAdminPortlet_subtitle parameter.",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V3",
"score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N"
} ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Maven",
"name" : "com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "7.3.2"
}, {
"fixed" : "7.3.7-ga8"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Maven",
"name" : "com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "7.3.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "7.3.10.fp2"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Maven",
"name" : "com.liferay:com.liferay.frontend.js.web"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0"
}, {
"fixed" : "5.0.0"
} ]
} ]
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38267"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/liferay/liferay-portal/commit/c3ad74d0664072c43da4d30a1d19be8cec3aa8bc"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/liferay/liferay-portal"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://liferay.atlassian.net/browse/LPE-17212"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://liferay.dev/portal/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/jekt/content/cve-2021-38267-stored-xss-with-title-and-subtitle-of-blog-entry?p_r_p_assetEntryId=121611935&_com_liferay_asset_publisher_web_portlet_AssetPublisherPortlet_INSTANCE_jekt_redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fliferay.dev%3A443%2Fportal%2Fsecurity%2Fknown-vulnerabilities%3Fp_p_id%3Dcom_liferay_asset_publisher_web_portlet_AssetPublisherPortlet_INSTANCE_jekt%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26p_r_p_assetEntryId%3D121611935%26_com_liferay_asset_publisher_web_portlet_AssetPublisherPortlet_INSTANCE_jekt_cur%3D0%26p_r_p_resetCur%3Dfalse"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
"severity" : "MODERATE",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2025-07-15T17:33:52Z",
"nvd_published_at" : "2022-03-03T00:15:00Z"
}
}