CVE DATABASE / CVE-2020-7961
CVE-2020-7961
Liferay Portal Deserialization of Untrusted Data Vulnerability
CVSS 9.8 · CRITICAL
⚠ CISA KEV — ACTIVELY EXPLOITED
On the CISA KEV catalog
Confirmed exploited in the wild. Added 2021-11-03.
Federal remediation due 2022-05-03.
Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Summary
Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Liferay Portal prior to 7.2.1 CE GA2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via JSON web services (JSONWS).
CVSS 3.1 breakdown
| Base score | 9.8 (CRITICAL) |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| Attack vector | NETWORK |
| Attack complexity | LOW |
| Privileges required | NONE |
| User interaction | NONE |
| Scope | UNCHANGED |
| Confidentiality | HIGH |
| Integrity | HIGH |
| Availability | HIGH |
Weakness type (CWE)
Affected products
Liferay liferay portal
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References
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157254/Liferay-Portal-Java-Unmarshalling-Remote-Code-Execution.html
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/158392/Liferay-Portal-Remote-Code-Execution.html
- https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities
- https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/HbL5mxmVrnXW/content/id/117954271
- https://research.checkpoint.com/2021/freakout-leveraging-newest-vulnerabilities-for-creating-a-botnet/
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-7961
Data: NIST NVD + CISA KEV. NVD last modified 2025-11-07. Always verify against the vendor advisory before acting.