CVE-2022-45320 in Liferay
Summary
by MITRE • 02/20/2024
Liferay Portal before 7.4.3.16 and Liferay DXP before 7.2 fix pack 19, 7.3 before update 6, and 7.4 before update 16 allow remote authenticated users to become the owner of a wiki page by editing the wiki page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/13/2025
This vulnerability exists in Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP versions prior to specific fix releases, representing a critical access control flaw that allows authenticated users to escalate their privileges. The issue stems from improper authorization checks within the wiki page management functionality, where users can manipulate the ownership of wiki pages through the editing interface. This vulnerability specifically affects versions 7.4.3.16 and earlier, 7.2 fix pack 19 and earlier, 7.3 update 6 and earlier, and 7.4 update 16 and earlier, creating a widespread impact across multiple product lines and release versions.
The technical flaw manifests when authenticated users exploit a weakness in the wiki page ownership assignment mechanism during the editing process. When users attempt to modify wiki pages, the system fails to properly validate whether the current user has the authority to transfer ownership or modify the ownership attributes of the target page. This authorization bypass allows malicious users to change the owner field of any wiki page to their own account, effectively gaining administrative control over content they should not be able to modify. The vulnerability operates at the application level and requires only authentication credentials to exploit, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users have legitimate access to wiki functionality.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables privilege escalation and content manipulation without proper authorization. An attacker who gains access to a legitimate user account can leverage this flaw to take ownership of wiki pages, potentially gaining access to sensitive information, modifying critical documentation, or creating backdoors through unauthorized content creation. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and can lead to information disclosure, data integrity compromise, and potential lateral movement within the system. The impact extends beyond individual wiki pages to potentially affect entire wiki repositories and associated content management workflows.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately apply the relevant security patches provided by Liferay for their specific product versions. The recommended mitigation includes upgrading to Liferay Portal 7.4.3.16 or later, Liferay DXP 7.2 fix pack 19 or later, Liferay DXP 7.3 update 6 or later, and Liferay DXP 7.4 update 16 or later. Security teams should also implement network segmentation and monitoring to detect unauthorized wiki page modifications. Additional controls such as restricting wiki page editing permissions, implementing role-based access controls, and conducting regular security audits of content management systems should be considered. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-285 (Improper Authorization) and could be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1078 (Valid Accounts) and T1548.001 (Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism) in threat modeling frameworks.