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CVE Record

CVE-2021-33333: The Portal Workflow module in Liferay Portal 7.3.2 and earlier, and Liferay DXP 7.0 before fix pack 93, 7.1...

The Portal Workflow module in Liferay Portal 7.3.2 and earlier, and Liferay DXP 7.0 before fix pack 93, 7.1 before fix pack 19 and 7.2 before fix pack 6, does not properly check user permission, which allows remote authenticated users to view and delete workflow submissions via crafted URLs.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

Authenticated Liferay users could bypass workflow permissions and view or delete workflow submissions by using crafted URLs. This can expose internal approval content or disrupt business processes, but the sources do not show unauthenticated access, public exploitation, CVSS, or CWE details.

Executive priority

Treat as a timely remediation item for Liferay-backed business portals, especially where workflows contain sensitive approvals or operational records. Urgency is lower than unauthenticated remote compromise, but deletion capability creates business integrity risk.

Technical view

CVE-2021-33333 affects the Portal Workflow module in Liferay Portal 7.3.2 and earlier, and specified Liferay DXP 7.0, 7.1, and 7.2 fix-pack ranges. The flaw is improper permission checking for workflow submission view and delete actions reachable by remote authenticated users via crafted URLs.

Likely exposure

Organizations running affected Liferay Portal or DXP versions with Portal Workflow enabled are the likely exposure set. Risk depends on authenticated user population, workflow sensitivity, and whether vulnerable fix-pack levels remain deployed.

Exploitation context

The source bundle says exploitation requires a remote authenticated user and crafted URLs. It does not cite CISA KEV listing, active exploitation, public exploit code, or exploitation in the wild.

Researcher notes

The public CVE data provides affected versions and a high-level permission-check failure, but no CVSS vector, CWE mapping, proof-of-concept detail, or workaround specifics. Avoid assuming impact beyond authenticated viewing and deletion of workflow submissions.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply Liferay vendor fixes or upgrade beyond the affected versions and fix-pack ranges.
  • For DXP, verify 7.0 fix pack 93, 7.1 fix pack 19, or 7.2 fix pack 6 or later.
  • For Liferay Portal 7.3.2 or earlier, check Liferay guidance for the corrected release path.
  • Restrict workflow access to trusted authenticated users until remediation is complete.
  • Review workflow submission permissions and delete rights for least privilege.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory all Liferay Portal and DXP instances and record exact versions and fix-pack levels.
  • Confirm whether the Portal Workflow module is enabled and used for sensitive submissions.
  • Check whether deployed versions match the affected ranges listed in the CVE description.
  • Review audit or access logs for unexpected authenticated workflow submission view or delete activity.
  • Verify remediation by confirming fixed version or fix-pack levels after update.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
4

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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CVE-2021-33333 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
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
3Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

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.