Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2022-42118 is a cross-site scripting flaw in Liferay’s Portal Search module. An attacker can craft content through the tag parameter that runs script in a user’s browser if the user interacts with it. Business impact is mainly session, data, or user-action abuse within the victim’s Liferay context.
Executive priority
Treat this as a medium-priority web application security update. It is not reported as actively exploited in the provided sources, but public-facing Liferay portals should be remediated promptly because successful attacks can affect user trust and authenticated sessions.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-79 XSS affecting Liferay Portal 7.1.0 through 7.4.2, and Liferay DXP 7.1 before fix pack 27, 7.2 before fix pack 15, and 7.3 before service pack 3. CVSS 3.1 is 6.1: network reachable, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required, changed scope, low confidentiality and integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to organizations running the affected Liferay Portal or DXP versions with the Portal Search module reachable by users. Public-facing portals increase risk because attackers can target unauthenticated visitors or staff with crafted links or content.
Exploitation context
The CVE record does not show CISA KEV listing, and the provided sources do not claim active exploitation. Exploitation requires user interaction and succeeds in the browser context of the targeted user, not as direct server code execution.
Researcher notes
The provided sources identify the vulnerable parameter and affected version ranges but do not include proof-of-concept details. Avoid assuming exploit prevalence or additional affected products. Validation should focus on version, module exposure, and confirming the vendor-fixed maintenance level.
Mitigation direction
- Apply the relevant Liferay fix pack or service pack listed as fixing the affected DXP branch.
- Upgrade Liferay Portal to a vendor-supported version outside 7.1.0 through 7.4.2.
- Review Liferay’s advisory and issue tracker for exact fixed builds and deployment guidance.
- Prioritize public-facing portals and administrative user populations first.
Validation and detection
- Inventory all Liferay Portal and DXP deployments and record exact versions.
- Confirm whether affected Portal Search functionality is enabled and reachable.
- Verify installed fix pack or service pack level against Liferay’s advisory.
- Review web logs for unusual use of the tag parameter in search-related requests.
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
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-79: User-session and phishing behavior lookup
Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-42118 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
- 6.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
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.
SSVC decision data
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:C/C:L/I:L/A:N2.82.7CISA-ADPVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.1MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/HbL5mxmVrnXW/content/cve-2022-42118CVE reference, mitre
- https://issues.liferay.com/browse/LPE-17342CVE reference, mitre
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.
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.