CVE-2021-29038

Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP Does Not Obfuscate Password Reminder Answers

In Liferay Impl before 5.18.4, Liferay Users Admin Web before 5.0.33, Liferay Login Web before 5.0.18, and Liferay Commerce Account Web before 3.0.7 from Liferay Portal (7.2.0 through 7.3.5), and older unsupported versions, and Liferay DXP 7.3 before fix pack 1, 7.2 before fix pack 17, and older unsupported versions does not obfuscate password reminder answers on the page, which allows attackers to use man-in-the-middle or shoulder surfing attacks to steal user's password reminder answers.

CVE-2021-29038 has a CVSS score of 6.3 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and user interaction required. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (5.18.4, 5.0.33, 5.0.18, 3.0.7, 7.2.10.fp17, 7.3.10.fp1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

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1. What is CVE-2021-29038? CVE-2021-29038 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in com.liferay.portal:portal-impl (maven), affecting versions < 5.18.4. It is fixed in 5.18.4, 5.0.33, 5.0.18, 3.0.7, 7.2.10.fp17, 7.3.10.fp1.
2. How severe is CVE-2021-29038? CVE-2021-29038 has a CVSS score of 6.3 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-29038?
   • com.liferay.portal:portal-impl (maven) (versions < 5.18.4)
   • com.liferay:com.liferay.users.admin.web (maven) (versions < 5.0.33)
   • com.liferay:com.liferay.login.web (maven) (versions < 5.0.18)
   • com.liferay.commerce:com.liferay.commerce.account.web (maven) (versions < 3.0.7)
   • com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom (maven) (versions < 7.2.10.fp17)
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2021-29038? Yes. CVE-2021-29038 is fixed in 5.18.4, 5.0.33, 5.0.18, 3.0.7, 7.2.10.fp17, 7.3.10.fp1. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2021-29038 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2021-29038 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2021-29038 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2021-29038?
   • Upgrade com.liferay.portal:portal-impl to 5.18.4 or later
   • Upgrade com.liferay:com.liferay.users.admin.web to 5.0.33 or later
   • Upgrade com.liferay:com.liferay.login.web to 5.0.18 or later
   • Upgrade com.liferay.commerce:com.liferay.commerce.account.web to 3.0.7 or later
   • Upgrade com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom to 7.2.10.fp17 or later
   • Upgrade com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom to 7.3.10.fp1 or later

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