CVE-2025-43816 in Liferay
Summary
by MITRE • 09/25/2025
A memory leak in the headless API for StructuredContents in Liferay Portal 7.4.0 through 7.4.3.119, and older unsupported versions, and Liferay DXP 2024.Q1.1 through 2024.Q1.5, 2023.Q4.0 through 2024.Q4.10, 2023.Q3.1 through 2023.Q3.10, 7.4 GA through update 92, and older unsupported versions allows an attacker to cause server unavailability (denial of service) via repeatedly calling the API endpoint.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/16/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-43816 represents a critical memory leak within the headless API implementation for StructuredContents in Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP platforms. This flaw affects a broad range of versions including Liferay Portal 7.4.0 through 7.4.3.119 and all older unsupported releases, alongside Liferay DXP versions spanning from 2024.Q1.1 through 2024.Q1.5, 2023.Q4.0 through 2024.Q4.10, 2023.Q3.1 through 2023.Q3.10, and various 7.4 GA releases up to update 92. The memory leak occurs specifically within the structured content handling mechanism of the headless API, which is designed to provide programmatic access to content management functionality for headless applications and mobile clients.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper memory management within the StructuredContents API endpoint where allocated memory resources are not properly released after each API call. This memory allocation pattern creates a gradual accumulation of unreleased memory segments that persist throughout the server runtime. The flaw operates through repeated invocation of the vulnerable API endpoint, where each call contributes to the growing memory footprint without adequate cleanup mechanisms. The memory leak manifests as a steady increase in heap memory consumption, eventually leading to memory exhaustion and subsequent service disruption. This behavior aligns with CWE-401: Improper Release of Memory and follows the ATT&CK technique T1499.004: Endpoint Denial of Service, where adversaries leverage memory exhaustion to compromise system availability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it enables a straightforward denial of service attack that requires minimal resources from the attacker. An adversary can simply repeatedly call the affected API endpoint to gradually consume all available server memory, leading to complete service unavailability. The vulnerability affects both Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP environments, making it particularly dangerous for organizations running these platforms for enterprise content management and digital experience solutions. The memory leak can occur silently over time, potentially going unnoticed until the system becomes completely unresponsive, at which point the service disruption becomes immediately apparent to end users and administrators. This vulnerability directly impacts the availability aspect of the CIA triad and represents a significant risk to business continuity for organizations relying on these platforms for their digital operations.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including rate limiting and connection throttling for the vulnerable API endpoints to prevent abuse. The most effective long-term solution involves applying the vendor-provided security patches and updates that address the memory management issues within the StructuredContents API implementation. System administrators should also establish monitoring mechanisms to track memory consumption patterns and set alerts for unusual memory growth that could indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, implementing proper API gateway controls and request validation can help reduce the attack surface and provide additional layers of defense. Organizations should also consider disabling the headless API endpoints for StructuredContents if they are not actively used, thereby eliminating the attack vector entirely. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper resource management in API implementations and demonstrates how seemingly minor memory management flaws can result in significant availability impacts.