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CVE Record

CVE-2021-38266: The Portal Security module in Liferay Portal 7.2.1 and earlier, and Liferay DXP 7.0 before fix pack 90, 7.1...

The Portal Security module in Liferay Portal 7.2.1 and earlier, and Liferay DXP 7.0 before fix pack 90, 7.1 before fix pack 17 and 7.2 before fix pack 5 does not correctly import users from LDAP, which allows remote attackers to prevent a legitimate user from authenticating by attempting to sign in as a user that exist in LDAP.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-38266 is an authentication availability issue in Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP when LDAP users are imported incorrectly. A remote attacker could stop a legitimate LDAP-backed user from signing in. The main business risk is account-level denial of service, not confirmed data theft or code execution.

Executive priority

Prioritize remediation for internet-facing or business-critical Liferay portals using LDAP. The issue can disrupt user access, but available sources do not show active exploitation or broader compromise impact.

Technical view

The Portal Security module in Liferay Portal 7.2.1 and earlier, and specified Liferay DXP 7.0, 7.1, and 7.2 fix-pack ranges, mishandles LDAP user import. The described impact is preventing legitimate authentication for an LDAP-existing user. No CVSS, CWE, or KEV listing is provided in the source bundle.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely where Liferay Portal or DXP uses LDAP-backed authentication and runs the affected versions or fix-pack levels named in the CVE description.

Exploitation context

The bundle describes remote attacker capability but does not cite active exploitation, public exploit maturity, or CISA KEV status. Treat this as a targeted availability risk until vendor guidance or local telemetry indicates otherwise.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited to the CVE description and Liferay references. The affected CPE data is not populated in the bundle, and no CVSS vector is supplied. Avoid assuming confidentiality or integrity impact without vendor confirmation.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory Liferay Portal and DXP versions and fix-pack levels.
  • For DXP 7.0, update to fix pack 90 or later.
  • For DXP 7.1, update to fix pack 17 or later.
  • For DXP 7.2, update to fix pack 5 or later.
  • For Portal, follow Liferay’s advisory for an unaffected upgrade path.
  • Review Liferay guidance and LPE-17191 before production rollout.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm whether LDAP authentication or LDAP user import is enabled.
  • Map deployed versions against the affected ranges in the CVE description.
  • Verify DXP fix-pack levels after maintenance.
  • Review authentication logs for abnormal failed sign-ins affecting LDAP-backed users.
  • Test legitimate LDAP-backed user login after remediation.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
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

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CVE-2021-38266 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
3Source 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.