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CVE Record

CVE-2021-29041: Denial-of-service (DoS) vulnerability in the Multi-Factor Authentication module in Liferay DXP 7.3 before f...

Denial-of-service (DoS) vulnerability in the Multi-Factor Authentication module in Liferay DXP 7.3 before fix pack 1 allows remote authenticated attackers to prevent any user from authenticating by (1) enabling Time-based One-time password (TOTP) on behalf of the other user or (2) modifying the other user's TOTP shared secret.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-29041 is an authentication availability issue in Liferay DXP 7.3 before fix pack 1. An authenticated remote user could interfere with another user’s TOTP MFA setup, potentially stopping users from logging in. The business risk is loss of access to a Liferay portal, not data theft based on the supplied sources.

Executive priority

Treat this as a targeted availability risk for Liferay portals. It is not documented here as actively exploited, but it can block user authentication, so prioritize exposed production portals and identity-critical deployments.

Technical view

The flaw is in the Multi-Factor Authentication module. The CVE description says authenticated attackers can enable TOTP for another user or modify that user’s TOTP shared secret, preventing authentication. The source bundle provides no CVSS score, CWE, detailed affected CPEs, or exploit details.

Likely exposure

Organizations running Liferay DXP 7.3 before fix pack 1 with the MFA module present are the likely exposure group. The bundle does not identify other Liferay products, editions, or versions.

Exploitation context

The supplied sources do not report active exploitation, and the record is not marked KEV. The attack requires remote authenticated access, which lowers opportunistic internet-scale risk but still matters where many portal users have accounts.

Researcher notes

The public bundle is sparse: no CVSS vector, CWE, CPE list, or proof-of-concept details are included. Analysis should stay anchored to Liferay DXP 7.3 before fix pack 1 and the described TOTP manipulation behavior.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply Liferay DXP 7.3 fix pack 1 or later where applicable.
  • Review Liferay LPE-17131 for vendor-specific remediation guidance.
  • Prioritize portals where authentication availability is business-critical.
  • If patching is delayed, ask Liferay support for supported temporary controls.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Liferay DXP versions and identify any 7.3 systems before fix pack 1.
  • Confirm whether the Multi-Factor Authentication module is enabled or deployed.
  • Review recent TOTP enrollment and shared-secret changes for unexpected actor-user mismatches.
  • After remediation, test normal login and MFA enrollment workflows.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
3

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

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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description · low confidence lookup

Credential 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.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-29041 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

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.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
1ADP providers
2Source links

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CVECVE Program Container

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.