CVE-2022-42116 is a Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability affecting the Frontend Editor module's integration with CKEditor in Liferay Portal versions 7.3.2 through 7.4.3.14, and Liferay DXP versions 7.3 before update 6 and 7.4 before update 15. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML code via the 'name' or 'namespace' parameters. The vulnerability arises due to insufficient input sanitization or output encoding in these parameters, which are processed by the Frontend Editor module when interacting with CKEditor, a widely used web-based rich text editor. Exploiting this vulnerability requires no privileges (PR:N) but does require user interaction (UI:R), such as tricking a user into clicking a crafted link or visiting a malicious page. The attack vector is network-based (AV:N), meaning the attacker can exploit it remotely over the internet. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.1, categorized as medium severity, reflecting limited impact on confidentiality and integrity but no impact on availability. The scope is changed (S:C), indicating that the vulnerability affects components beyond the initially vulnerable module, potentially impacting other parts of the application or user sessions. While no known exploits are reported in the wild, the vulnerability is publicly disclosed and could be leveraged in targeted attacks. The CWE classification is CWE-79, which corresponds to improper neutralization of input during web page generation, a common cause of XSS issues. Given that Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP are enterprise-grade content management and digital experience platforms widely used by organizations for intranet, extranet, and public-facing websites, this vulnerability could be leveraged to perform session hijacking, defacement, phishing, or delivery of malicious payloads through injected scripts.

For European organizations using Liferay Portal or Liferay DXP, this vulnerability poses a risk primarily to the confidentiality and integrity of web sessions and user data. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to execute arbitrary scripts in the context of authenticated users, potentially leading to session hijacking, unauthorized actions, or theft of sensitive information such as credentials or personal data. This is particularly concerning for organizations handling regulated data under GDPR, as exploitation could lead to data breaches and compliance violations. The vulnerability does not directly impact system availability but could be used as a foothold for further attacks or social engineering campaigns. Public-facing portals or intranet sites with high user interaction are at greater risk, especially if users have elevated privileges. The medium severity score reflects that while the vulnerability is exploitable remotely without authentication, it requires user interaction, which may limit widespread automated exploitation but does not eliminate targeted attacks. European organizations in sectors such as government, finance, healthcare, and education that rely on Liferay for digital services should consider this vulnerability a significant risk to their web application security posture.

To mitigate CVE-2022-42116, organizations should prioritize applying the latest security updates and patches provided by Liferay for the affected versions, specifically updating to versions beyond 7.4.3.14 for Liferay Portal and applying update 6 or later for Liferay DXP 7.3 and update 15 or later for 7.4. If immediate patching is not feasible, implement strict input validation and output encoding on the 'name' and 'namespace' parameters within the Frontend Editor module to neutralize malicious scripts. Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts and reduce the impact of potential XSS attacks. Additionally, conduct thorough security testing and code reviews focusing on user input handling in customizations or extensions of the Frontend Editor and CKEditor integration. Educate users about the risks of clicking untrusted links and monitor web application logs for suspicious activities indicative of attempted XSS exploitation. Deploy Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with rules tailored to detect and block XSS payloads targeting these parameters. Finally, ensure that session management employs secure cookies with HttpOnly and SameSite attributes to mitigate session hijacking risks.