CVE-2025-4581 is a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability identified in Liferay Portal versions 7.4.0 through 7.4.3.132 and multiple versions of Liferay DXP from 2024.Q1.1 through 2025.Q1.4. The vulnerability resides in the portal-settings-authentication-opensso-web component, which improperly validates user-supplied URLs. This flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to craft requests that cause the Liferay server to initiate arbitrary HTTP requests to internal or external systems. Because the vulnerability is pre-authentication and blind, the attacker does not receive direct responses from the internal requests but can infer success or failure through side channels or subsequent behavior. Exploiting this SSRF can enable internal network reconnaissance, potentially exposing sensitive internal services that are otherwise inaccessible externally. It may also serve as a pivot point for further exploitation, such as accessing internal APIs, bypassing firewalls, or exploiting other vulnerabilities within the internal network. The CVSS 4.0 base score is 5.3 (medium severity), reflecting network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges or user interaction required, and limited confidentiality impact. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, but the vulnerability’s presence in widely used enterprise portal software makes it a significant concern.

For European organizations using Liferay Portal or Liferay DXP, this SSRF vulnerability poses a moderate risk. Many enterprises and public sector entities in Europe rely on Liferay for intranet portals, customer-facing websites, and digital experience platforms. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized internal network scanning, exposing internal services such as databases, internal APIs, or management interfaces that are not intended to be publicly accessible. This could facilitate lateral movement within the network, data exfiltration, or disruption of services. Given the pre-authentication nature, attackers do not need valid credentials, increasing the attack surface. The impact is particularly critical for organizations with sensitive internal infrastructure or those subject to strict data protection regulations like GDPR, as internal data exposure could lead to compliance violations and reputational damage. However, the lack of known active exploitation and the medium severity score suggest that immediate catastrophic impact is less likely but should not be underestimated.

Organizations should prioritize applying security updates or patches from Liferay as soon as they become available for the affected versions. In the absence of patches, administrators should consider disabling or restricting access to the portal-settings-authentication-opensso-web component if not in use. Network-level controls should be implemented to restrict outbound HTTP requests from the Liferay server to only trusted destinations, using egress filtering and web proxies. Internal network segmentation can limit the potential reach of SSRF exploitation. Additionally, monitoring and logging outbound requests from the portal server can help detect anomalous activity indicative of SSRF attempts. Web application firewalls (WAFs) can be tuned to detect and block suspicious URL patterns or unusual request behaviors targeting the vulnerable component. Finally, organizations should conduct internal security assessments to identify any exposed internal services that could be targeted via SSRF and apply appropriate hardening or access controls.