CVE-2025-43830 is a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in the Forms module of Liferay Portal versions 7.3.2 through 7.4.3.111 and various Liferay DXP 2023.Q3 and Q4 releases, as well as earlier 7.3 and 7.4 GA updates. The vulnerability arises from insufficient sanitization of user-supplied input in rich text fields within forms, allowing an attacker to inject arbitrary JavaScript or HTML code that is stored persistently on the server. When other users view the affected form or content, the malicious script executes in their browsers within the security context of the vulnerable site. This can lead to theft of session cookies, unauthorized actions on behalf of users, or redirection to malicious websites. The vulnerability requires no privileges or authentication to exploit but does require that a victim interacts with the injected content to trigger the payload. The CVSS 4.0 vector indicates network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, but user interaction is necessary, with limited confidentiality and integrity impact and no availability impact. No public exploits or active exploitation campaigns have been reported to date. The vulnerability was reserved in April 2025 and published in October 2025. Liferay has not yet provided official patches or mitigation links in the provided data, indicating organizations must proactively apply best practices to mitigate risk. Given Liferay Portal's widespread use in enterprise portals, intranets, and public-facing websites, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk, especially in environments where user-generated content is common and rich text fields are enabled.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-43830 can be significant in sectors relying on Liferay Portal for internal and external web services, such as government agencies, financial institutions, healthcare providers, and large enterprises. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to user sessions, enabling attackers to impersonate users, steal sensitive information, or perform unauthorized actions within the portal. This undermines confidentiality and integrity of data and user interactions. While availability is not directly affected, reputational damage and regulatory consequences under GDPR could be severe if personal data is compromised. The medium CVSS score reflects the need for attention but also indicates that exploitation requires user interaction, somewhat limiting mass exploitation potential. However, phishing or social engineering could be used to increase success rates. Organizations with public-facing Liferay portals are at higher risk, as attackers can more easily inject and trigger malicious payloads. Internal portals with restricted access may be less exposed but still vulnerable if internal users interact with malicious content. The lack of known exploits in the wild provides a window for mitigation before active attacks emerge.

European organizations should implement the following specific mitigations beyond generic advice: 1) Immediately audit all Liferay Portal instances to identify affected versions and prioritize upgrades to versions beyond those listed as vulnerable once official patches are released. 2) Until patches are available, disable or restrict use of rich text fields in forms where possible, or apply strict input validation and sanitization on user inputs to prevent script injection. 3) Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict execution of unauthorized scripts and reduce impact of XSS attacks. 4) Conduct regular security awareness training to educate users about risks of interacting with suspicious links or content within the portal. 5) Monitor logs and user activity for unusual behavior that may indicate exploitation attempts. 6) Use web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block common XSS payload patterns targeting Liferay forms. 7) Engage with Liferay support and subscribe to security advisories to receive timely updates and patches. 8) Review and harden session management and authentication mechanisms to limit damage from session hijacking. 9) Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for portal access to reduce risk from compromised sessions. 10) Test and validate all mitigations in staging environments before deployment to production.