Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-29038 exposes password reminder answers in Liferay pages instead of hiding them. Someone viewing or intercepting a user session could learn those answers and potentially weaken account recovery security. The issue is medium severity, but it matters where Liferay is internet-facing, used by many users, or tied to sensitive business systems.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation on externally reachable or business-critical Liferay portals. This is not described as actively exploited, but it directly weakens account recovery secrecy and can support account compromise in realistic viewing or interception scenarios.
Technical view
Affected Liferay Portal 7.2.0 through 7.3.5, older unsupported versions, and Liferay DXP 7.3 before fix pack 1 and 7.2 before fix pack 17 fail to obfuscate password reminder answers. The CVSS 3.1 score is 6.3, with network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, and user interaction required.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in organizations running affected Liferay Portal or DXP versions with password reminder functionality reachable by users. Internet-facing portals, shared workstations, training rooms, support sessions, and intercepted sessions increase practical risk.
Exploitation context
The source bundle supports man-in-the-middle and shoulder-surfing scenarios. It does not state public exploit availability, observed exploitation, or CISA KEV listing. Treat exploitation evidence as incomplete rather than proven active exploitation.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record and Liferay advisory reference. The affected CPE data in the bundle is not populated, so validation should rely on product/version inventory and vendor advisory details. No exploit steps, indicators, or compensating controls are provided in the sources.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Liferay Portal or DXP outside the affected version ranges.
- Apply Liferay DXP 7.3 fix pack 1 or later where applicable.
- Apply Liferay DXP 7.2 fix pack 17 or later where applicable.
- Check the Liferay advisory for fixed Portal releases and supported upgrade paths.
- Reduce exposure of account recovery pages until remediation is complete.
Validation and detection
- Inventory all Liferay Portal and DXP versions and fix pack levels.
- Confirm whether password reminder pages are enabled and reachable.
- Test authorized account recovery pages for visible reminder answers.
- Review whether affected portals are internet-facing or used on shared displays.
- Check vendor guidance for any additional verification criteria.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
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CWE-640: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-29038 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L2.83.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Source materials
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password
Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.