CVE-2005-4400 in Liferay Portal Enterprise
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in downloads/portal_ent in Liferay Portal Enterprise 3.6.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) _77_struts_action, (2) p_p_mode, and (3) p_p_state parameters.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/11/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-4400 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within Liferay Portal Enterprise version 3.6.1 and earlier releases. This security weakness resides in the downloads/portal_ent component of the portal software, specifically affecting how the system processes certain HTTP parameters. The vulnerability enables remote attackers to execute malicious scripts in the context of other users' browsers, potentially leading to unauthorized actions or data theft. The affected parameters include _77_struts_action, p_p_mode, and p_p_state which are commonly used in portal navigation and portlet interactions. This flaw falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is classified as a fundamental web application security weakness that allows attackers to inject client-side scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The vulnerability demonstrates a classic input validation failure where user-supplied data is not properly sanitized before being rendered in web responses.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when an attacker crafts malicious payloads containing script code within the vulnerable parameters mentioned in the CVE description. When these parameters are processed by the Liferay Portal application, the injected scripts execute in the victim's browser context, potentially stealing session cookies, redirecting users to malicious sites, or performing unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it leverages standard portal navigation parameters that are frequently used in legitimate web interactions, making the attack harder to detect and distinguish from normal user behavior. This type of vulnerability is categorized under ATT&CK technique T1566.001 which involves the use of malicious content to execute code in the context of a user's browser session. The vulnerability affects the integrity and confidentiality of the portal's user interactions, potentially compromising the entire portal ecosystem.
The operational impact of CVE-2005-4400 extends beyond simple script injection, as it can lead to complete session hijacking and privilege escalation within the portal environment. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to impersonate legitimate users, access restricted content, modify portal configurations, or even gain administrative privileges depending on the portal's security model. The vulnerability affects all users of the affected Liferay versions, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where portal applications serve as central access points for business-critical applications. Organizations utilizing these older portal versions face significant risk of data breaches, unauthorized access, and potential regulatory compliance violations. The vulnerability's persistence across multiple parameters increases the attack surface and makes it more difficult for administrators to implement effective mitigations through simple parameter filtering approaches. Security teams must consider the broader implications of such vulnerabilities in their risk assessment frameworks and prioritize remediation efforts accordingly.
The recommended mitigation strategies for CVE-2005-4400 involve immediate upgrading to Liferay Portal versions that have patched this vulnerability, as the original affected versions are no longer supported and lack security updates. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms to sanitize all user-supplied data before processing or rendering. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers can provide additional protection against script execution in the browser context. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the portal infrastructure. Additionally, network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect and prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining current software versions and implementing proper security controls in web application development lifecycle processes. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems to provide additional layers of protection against such attacks. The remediation process must include thorough testing of patched systems to ensure that the vulnerability is properly addressed without introducing new issues in the portal's functionality.