CVE-2025-43788 is a medium-severity vulnerability classified under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization) affecting Liferay Portal versions 7.4.0 through 7.4.3.124, Liferay DXP 2024.Q1.1 through 2024.Q1.12, and 7.4 update 81 through update 85. The vulnerability arises from the organization selector component within the Liferay Portal, which fails to properly verify user permissions before disclosing information. Specifically, remote authenticated users can exploit this flaw to retrieve a list of all organizations configured in the portal without having the necessary authorization. This unauthorized disclosure of organizational data can facilitate further reconnaissance and targeted attacks by adversaries. The CVSS 4.0 base score is 5.3, reflecting a medium severity level. The vector indicates network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required beyond authentication (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), and limited impact on confidentiality (VC:L), with no impact on integrity or availability. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches are linked yet, suggesting that organizations should monitor vendor updates closely. The vulnerability does not require elevated privileges beyond authenticated user status, making it accessible to any user with valid credentials, which increases the risk in environments with large user bases or weak authentication controls. The lack of authorization checks in the organization selector can lead to information leakage that may be leveraged for social engineering, privilege escalation attempts, or lateral movement within the network.

For European organizations using affected versions of Liferay Portal or Liferay DXP, this vulnerability poses a risk of unauthorized disclosure of organizational structure and related metadata. Such information leakage can undermine confidentiality and aid attackers in mapping internal networks and organizational hierarchies, potentially facilitating more sophisticated attacks such as targeted phishing or insider threat exploitation. While the vulnerability does not directly impact system integrity or availability, the exposure of sensitive organizational data can have reputational and operational consequences, especially for sectors handling sensitive or regulated data (e.g., finance, healthcare, government). Additionally, organizations with large user bases or third-party collaborators with portal access are at higher risk, as any authenticated user can exploit this flaw. The medium severity rating suggests that while the immediate damage may be limited, the vulnerability should be addressed promptly to prevent escalation or chaining with other vulnerabilities. Given the widespread use of Liferay Portal in European enterprises for intranet, extranet, and public-facing web portals, the impact could be significant if exploited at scale.

European organizations should implement the following specific mitigation measures: 1) Immediately audit current Liferay Portal and DXP versions in use to identify if they fall within the affected ranges. 2) Restrict portal access to trusted users only, enforcing strong authentication mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce the risk of unauthorized access. 3) Monitor user activity logs for unusual access patterns to the organization selector or related components. 4) Apply principle of least privilege by reviewing and minimizing user roles and permissions, ensuring that only necessary users have authenticated access to the portal. 5) Engage with Liferay support channels to obtain official patches or updates addressing CVE-2025-43788 as soon as they become available and prioritize their deployment in test and production environments. 6) If immediate patching is not possible, consider implementing compensating controls such as web application firewalls (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the organization selector. 7) Conduct internal security awareness training to inform users about the risks of unauthorized data disclosure and encourage reporting of suspicious portal behavior. These targeted actions go beyond generic advice by focusing on access control hardening, monitoring, and vendor engagement specific to this vulnerability.