CVE-2021-33320

Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP vulnerable to email spam via lack of flagging rate

The Flags module before version 5.0.11 in Liferay Portal 7.3.1 and earlier, and Liferay DXP 7.0 before fix pack 96, 7.1 before fix pack 20, and 7.2 before fix pack 5, does not limit the rate at which content can be flagged as inappropriate, which allows remote authenticated users to spam the site administrator with emails

The application allocates resources such as memory, threads, or file descriptors based on untrusted input without enforcing a cap. Typical impact: resource exhaustion leading to denial of service.

CVE-2021-33320 has a CVSS score of 4.3 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. 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 (5.0.11, 7.0.10.fp96, 7.1.10.fp20, 7.2.10.fp5); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

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1. What is CVE-2021-33320? CVE-2021-33320 is a medium-severity allocation of resources without limits or throttling vulnerability in com.liferay:com.liferay.flags.taglib (maven), affecting versions < 5.0.11. It is fixed in 5.0.11, 7.0.10.fp96, 7.1.10.fp20, 7.2.10.fp5. The application allocates resources such as memory, threads, or file descriptors based on untrusted input without enforcing a cap.
2. How severe is CVE-2021-33320? CVE-2021-33320 has a CVSS score of 4.3 (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-2021-33320?
   • com.liferay:com.liferay.flags.taglib (maven) (versions < 5.0.11)
   • com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom (maven) (versions >= 7.0.0, < 7.0.10.fp96)
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2021-33320? Yes. CVE-2021-33320 is fixed in 5.0.11, 7.0.10.fp96, 7.1.10.fp20, 7.2.10.fp5. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2021-33320 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2021-33320 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-2021-33320 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-2021-33320?
   • Upgrade com.liferay:com.liferay.flags.taglib to 5.0.11 or later
   • Upgrade com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom to 7.0.10.fp96 or later
   • Upgrade com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom to 7.1.10.fp20 or later
   • Upgrade com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom to 7.2.10.fp5 or later