CVE-2022-42110 is a Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in the Announcements module of Liferay Portal versions 7.1.0 through 7.4.2 and Liferay DXP versions 7.1 (before fix pack 27), 7.2 (before fix pack 17), and 7.3 (before service pack 3). This vulnerability allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML code into the Announcements module, which is typically used for displaying messages or notifications within the portal. The vulnerability arises due to insufficient input sanitization or output encoding of user-supplied data within this module, classified under CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation). Exploitation requires no privileges (PR:N) but does require user interaction (UI:R), such as a victim clicking a crafted link or viewing a malicious announcement. The attack vector is network-based (AV:N), meaning the attacker can exploit it remotely over the internet or intranet. The vulnerability impacts confidentiality and integrity (C:L/I:L) but does not affect availability (A:N). The scope is changed (S:C), indicating that the vulnerability can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component, potentially impacting other parts of the portal or user sessions. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 6.1, categorized as medium severity. No known exploits in the wild have been reported to date. The lack of patch links in the provided data suggests that users should verify the availability of security updates directly from Liferay or their service providers. Given the widespread use of Liferay Portal and DXP in enterprise environments for content management and collaboration, this vulnerability could be leveraged to execute malicious scripts, steal session tokens, perform phishing, or conduct other client-side attacks within affected portals.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2022-42110 can be significant, especially for those relying on Liferay Portal or DXP for internal communications, customer portals, or public-facing websites. Successful exploitation could lead to theft of user credentials, session hijacking, or unauthorized actions performed on behalf of users, undermining confidentiality and integrity of sensitive information. This can result in data breaches, reputational damage, and potential regulatory non-compliance under GDPR due to exposure of personal data. Since the vulnerability requires user interaction, social engineering or phishing campaigns could be used to lure users into triggering the exploit. The changed scope indicates that the attack could affect multiple users or components beyond the initial injection point, increasing the potential damage. Although availability is not directly impacted, the indirect consequences of compromised user accounts or data integrity could disrupt business operations. Organizations in sectors such as finance, healthcare, government, and critical infrastructure that use Liferay products for portal services are particularly at risk. The absence of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate threat but does not eliminate the risk, as attackers may develop exploits over time.

1. Immediate verification and application of official patches or fix packs from Liferay for the affected versions is critical. Organizations should consult Liferay’s security advisories and update to at least fix pack 27 for 7.1, fix pack 17 for 7.2, or service pack 3 for 7.3, or upgrade to versions beyond 7.4.2 where the vulnerability is resolved. 2. Implement strict input validation and output encoding on the Announcements module to sanitize user-supplied content, ideally using security libraries or frameworks that enforce context-aware encoding. 3. Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts and reduce the impact of potential XSS attacks. 4. Conduct user awareness training to reduce the risk of social engineering attacks that could trigger the vulnerability. 5. Monitor web application logs and user activity for suspicious behavior indicative of XSS exploitation attempts. 6. Use web application firewalls (WAFs) with updated signatures to detect and block malicious payloads targeting this vulnerability. 7. Review and restrict permissions for users who can create or edit announcements to minimize the attack surface. 8. Regularly audit and test web applications for XSS vulnerabilities using automated scanning tools and manual penetration testing.