CVE-2025-62264: Liferay DXP Reflected XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-62264 Overview

CVE-2025-62264 is a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability [CWE-79] in the Language Override feature of Liferay Portal and Liferay Digital Experience Platform (DXP). The flaw resides in the _com_liferay_portal_language_override_web_internal_portlet_PLOPortlet_selectedLanguageId parameter, which fails to sanitize user-supplied input before reflecting it in server responses. Remote attackers can craft malicious URLs that inject arbitrary web script or HTML into an authenticated user's browser session. Successful exploitation requires user interaction, typically through a phishing link or embedded reference on an attacker-controlled page.

Critical Impact
Attackers can execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of the victim's Liferay session, enabling theft of session tokens, credential harvesting, or unauthorized actions within the portal.

Affected Products

Liferay Portal 7.4.3.8 through 7.4.3.111
Liferay DXP 2023.Q4.0 through 2023.Q4.10 and 2023.Q3.1 through 2023.Q3.10
Liferay DXP 7.4 update 4 through update 92

Discovery Timeline

2025-10-31 - CVE-2025-62264 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-62264

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability affects the Language Override portlet (PLOPortlet) in Liferay Portal, a component used to customize language keys within the platform. When the portlet processes a request containing the selectedLanguageId parameter, the value is reflected back into the rendered HTML response without adequate output encoding or input sanitization. Because Liferay reflects the raw parameter value into the DOM, an attacker who convinces a victim to visit a crafted URL can inject arbitrary script content that executes under the origin of the Liferay deployment.

Exploitation runs with the privileges of the authenticated victim. If the target user holds administrative rights within Liferay, injected script can invoke privileged portlet actions, exfiltrate content, or pivot to other administrative interfaces. The scope of the attack is limited to the browser session, but Liferay portals frequently host business-critical content, intranet functionality, and single sign-on integrations that amplify downstream impact.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of input during web page generation [CWE-79]. The Language Override portlet writes the selectedLanguageId request parameter into the response markup without applying HTML entity encoding or a strict allowlist filter. Any input containing angle brackets, script tags, or JavaScript event handlers is preserved verbatim and interpreted by the browser.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires user interaction. An attacker constructs a URL targeting a vulnerable Liferay instance and embeds a malicious payload in the _com_liferay_portal_language_override_web_internal_portlet_PLOPortlet_selectedLanguageId parameter. The victim, typically an authenticated Liferay administrator or content editor, clicks the link through phishing, chat, or a compromised page. The Liferay server reflects the payload into the response, and the browser executes the injected script under the portal's origin, granting access to cookies, tokens, and same-origin resources.

No public proof-of-concept exploit or in-the-wild exploitation has been reported for this issue.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-62264

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP requests containing the parameter _com_liferay_portal_language_override_web_internal_portlet_PLOPortlet_selectedLanguageId with values containing <script, javascript:, onerror=, onload=, or URL-encoded equivalents such as %3Cscript.
Access log entries referencing the Language Override portlet URL path from external referrers or unexpected user-agents.
Outbound HTTP requests from administrator browsers to unknown hosts shortly after clicking a Liferay portal link.

Detection Strategies

Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules that inspect query parameters for HTML tags and JavaScript event handlers targeting Liferay portlet URLs.
Review Liferay access logs and reverse proxy logs for anomalous values in the selectedLanguageId parameter.
Correlate authentication events with administrator actions performed immediately after inbound links to identify session abuse consistent with XSS-driven activity.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose HTTP request logging on the front-end proxy and forward logs to a centralized SIEM for parameter-level inspection.
Alert on repeated 200 responses returned from Language Override portlet URLs containing script metacharacters.
Monitor Liferay administrator accounts for unexpected content modifications, permission changes, or API tokens created after suspicious sessions.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-62264

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Liferay Portal to a version later than 7.4.3.111 and Liferay DXP to a fixed release above 2023.Q4.10 or 7.4 update 92 as directed by the vendor advisory.
Restrict access to the Language Override portlet to administrative users on trusted networks until patches are applied.
Invalidate active administrator sessions and rotate any credentials or API tokens that may have been exposed if suspicious activity is observed.

Patch Information

Liferay has published remediation guidance in the official advisory. Refer to the Liferay Security Advisory CVE-2025-62264 for fixed versions and upgrade instructions covering both Liferay Portal 7.4 and DXP release trains.

Workarounds

Deploy WAF signatures that block requests containing HTML or JavaScript metacharacters in the _com_liferay_portal_language_override_web_internal_portlet_PLOPortlet_selectedLanguageId parameter.
Enforce a strict Content Security Policy (CSP) that disallows inline scripts and restricts script sources to trusted origins to reduce the impact of reflected XSS.
Configure browser session cookies with HttpOnly and SameSite=Strict attributes to limit token theft via injected script.

bash

# Example ModSecurity rule to block script payloads in the vulnerable parameter
SecRule ARGS:_com_liferay_portal_language_override_web_internal_portlet_PLOPortlet_selectedLanguageId \
    "@rx (?i)(<script|javascript:|onerror=|onload=|%3Cscript)" \
    "id:1006264,phase:2,deny,status:403,log,msg:'CVE-2025-62264 Liferay Language Override XSS attempt'"