CVE-2025-43761 is a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in multiple versions of the Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP products, specifically affecting versions 7.4.0 through 7.4.3.131 and various 2024 quarterly releases of Liferay DXP. The vulnerability resides in the frontend-editor-ckeditor-web component, particularly in the ckeditor/samples/old/ajax.html path. This flaw allows a remote attacker with no authentication required to inject malicious JavaScript code into the web interface. Reflected XSS occurs when untrusted input is improperly neutralized and then reflected back to the user’s browser, enabling execution of arbitrary scripts. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79, which denotes improper neutralization of input during web page generation. The CVSS v4.0 base score is 6.9 (medium severity), indicating a moderate risk. The vector details show that the attack can be performed remotely (AV:N), requires no privileges (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), and no authentication (AT:N). The impact on confidentiality and integrity is low, while availability impact is none. The scope is limited but can lead to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized actions if exploited. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no official patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability affects publicly accessible web components, making it a concern for organizations exposing Liferay portals to the internet. Given the widespread use of Liferay in enterprise portals, intranets, and customer-facing websites, this vulnerability could be leveraged to target users and steal sensitive information or perform phishing attacks.

For European organizations using Liferay Portal or DXP, this vulnerability poses a risk primarily to the confidentiality and integrity of user sessions and data. Exploitation could allow attackers to execute arbitrary scripts in the context of the victim’s browser, potentially leading to session hijacking, theft of authentication tokens, or unauthorized actions performed on behalf of users. This is particularly critical for organizations relying on Liferay for customer portals, employee intranets, or any service involving sensitive personal or business data. The reflected XSS can be exploited without authentication and without user interaction, increasing the risk of automated attacks or drive-by exploits. Although the availability impact is minimal, the reputational damage and regulatory implications under GDPR for data breaches caused by such attacks could be significant. European organizations in sectors such as finance, healthcare, government, and telecommunications that use Liferay are at higher risk due to the sensitivity of data handled and regulatory scrutiny. Additionally, the vulnerability could be used as an initial vector for more complex multi-stage attacks targeting internal networks.

1. Immediate mitigation should include restricting access to the vulnerable ajax.html path, for example by using web application firewalls (WAFs) or reverse proxies to block or sanitize requests targeting the frontend-editor-ckeditor-web/ckeditor/samples/old/ajax.html endpoint. 2. Implement strict Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to limit the execution of unauthorized scripts and reduce the impact of XSS attacks. 3. Monitor web server logs and intrusion detection systems for suspicious requests targeting the vulnerable path. 4. Disable or remove sample/demo components such as ckeditor samples from production environments if not required. 5. Apply input validation and output encoding on all user-supplied inputs in the affected components once patches are released by Liferay. 6. Keep Liferay Portal and DXP installations updated with the latest security patches as soon as they become available. 7. Educate users and administrators about the risks of XSS and encourage vigilance against phishing attempts that may leverage this vulnerability. 8. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focusing on web application vulnerabilities including XSS in Liferay deployments.