CVE-2020-7961: Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Liferay Portal

com.liferay.portal:com.liferay.portal.kernel Updated 02 Oct 2025

Summary

24/05/2022

Disclosed on

CVE-2020-7961

CVE

Yes i

Fix available

Critical

Severity

9.8

CVSS Score

CVE-2020-7961: Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Liferay Portal. Affects com.liferay.portal:com.liferay.portal.kernel versions < 4.35.3. Fixed in 4.35.3. How to fix ↓

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Background

Liferay Portal is an open-source enterprise portal platform that provides a comprehensive suite of tools and features for building and managing web applications. The com.liferay.portal-kernel package is a core component of Liferay Portal, responsible for handling various functionalities such as user authentication, permissions, and data management. This package is widely used in Liferay Portal versions prior to 7.2.1 CE GA2.

Vulnerability Detail

The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-7961 involves the deserialization of untrusted data in Liferay Portal. Specifically, it affects the JSON web services (JSONWS) functionality. By exploiting this vulnerability, remote attackers can execute arbitrary code on the target system. This can lead to unauthorized access, data manipulation, and potentially complete compromise of the affected Liferay Portal instance. The severity of this vulnerability is rated as CRITICAL with a CVSS score of 9.8.

How To Fix

Minimum fixed version

4.35.3

This is the first release that contains the fix.

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Workaround

There is no known workaround for this vulnerability. It is essential to apply the recommended fix by upgrading to a secure version of Liferay Portal.

Conclusion

The deserialization vulnerability in Liferay Portal prior to version 7.2.1 CE GA2 poses a significant security risk, allowing remote code execution. It is crucial to upgrade to a secure version of Liferay Portal to mitigate this vulnerability and protect the system from potential exploitation. For further assistance and support in vulnerability remediation, please contact DevNack.com.

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