CVE-2023-33950 : What You Need to Know

A detailed analysis of CVE-2023-33950 focusing on the vulnerability, impact, technical details, and mitigation steps.

Understanding CVE-2023-33950

CVE-2023-33950 pertains to a vulnerability in Liferay Portal and DXP versions, allowing remote attackers to exploit regular expression patterns susceptible to ReDoS attacks, leading to a consumption of excessive server resources.

What is CVE-2023-33950?

The CVE-2023-33950 vulnerability enables attackers to utilize crafted request URLs with vulnerable regular expression patterns in Liferay Portal 7.4.3.48 through 7.4.3.76 and Liferay DXP 7.4 update 48 through 76, resulting in a significant drain on server resources.

The Impact of CVE-2023-33950

The vulnerability poses a medium-level threat with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.5, highlighting the high availability impact. Attackers can exploit this flaw to consume server resources excessively, potentially disrupting services and leading to denial of service.

Technical Details of CVE-2023-33950

This section delves into the description of the vulnerability, affected systems, and the exploitation mechanism.

Vulnerability Description

CVE-2023-33950 involves the use of vulnerable regular expression patterns in Liferay Portal and DXP, facilitating ReDoS attacks and enabling attackers to overwhelm server resources via manipulated URLs.

Affected Systems and Versions

The vulnerability affects Liferay products, including Portal versions 7.4.3.48 to 7.4.3.76 and DXP versions 7.4 update 48 to 76, exposing organizations utilizing these versions to the risk of resource exhaustion.

Exploitation Mechanism

Remote attackers can exploit CVE-2023-33950 by crafting malicious URLs with problematic regular expression patterns, triggering resource-intensive operations that can potentially lead to service disruption.

Mitigation and Prevention

Explore the immediate steps and long-term security practices to mitigate the risks associated with CVE-2023-33950.

Immediate Steps to Take

Organizations are advised to apply necessary patches and updates provided by Liferay promptly to address the vulnerability and prevent exploitation by malicious actors.

Long-Term Security Practices

Incorporating robust security measures, conducting regular security audits, and ensuring timely application of vendor patches can enhance the overall security posture of the IT infrastructure.

Patching and Updates

Regularly monitor security advisories from Liferay and promptly apply recommended patches to secure systems against emerging threats and vulnerabilities.