CVE-2020-7961
Liferay Portal Deserialization of Untrusted Data Vulnerability - [Actively Exploited]
Description
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).
INFO
Published Date :
March 20, 2020, 7:15 p.m.
Last Modified :
June 17, 2026, 3:25 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)
For the benefit of the cybersecurity community and network defenders—and to help every organization better manage vulnerabilities and keep pace with threat activity—CISA maintains the authoritative source of vulnerabilities that have been exploited in the wild.
Liferay Portal contains a deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability that allows remote attackers to execute code via JSON web services.
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Unknown
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-7961
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | |||||
| CVSS 2.0 | HIGH | [email protected] | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | CRITICAL | [email protected] | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | CRITICAL | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 |
Solution
- Upgrade to Liferay Portal 6.2.5, 7.0.6, 7.1.3, 7.2.1, or later.
- Consult the vendor advisory for further details.
Public PoC/Exploit Available at Github
CVE-2020-7961 has a 111 public
PoC/Exploit available at Github.
Go to the Public Exploits tab to see the list.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2020-7961.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2020-7961 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2020-7961
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Herramienta de reconocimiento pasivo/activo para detectar recursos ocultos, paneles de administración y funcionalidades peligrosas expuestas en portales Liferay (CE/DXP), pensada para evaluaciones de seguridad autorizadas (pentesting, auditorías, CTFs propios).
252 standalone, live-validated CVE exploit PoCs (pure-Python stdlib) across web apps, AI/ML platforms and the Linux kernel; 75 in the CISA KEV catalog. For authorized security testing and education.
cve exploit penetration-testing poc security-research vulnerability cybersecurity ethical-hacking infosec rce red-team security appsec cisa-kev deserialization exploit-development proof-of-concept python
Python C
None
Necromancer suite: hellhound (offensive security tool)
Python
None
HTTP honeypot on autopilot
canarytokens deception deception-technology honeypot honeypots codex llm-security openai
Python
None
Makefile HTML Go
Modular assessment tool for Liferay Portal and DXP environments.
Python
None
None
None
None
Java Python
None
Java Python
None
Master web security: OWASP Top 10, XSS, SQLi, CSRF, and secure coding practices. Includes labs, tools, and examples for secure web development.
csrf hacking hacking-tool owasp penetration-testing websecurity xss xss-exploitation xss-vulnerability
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2020-7961 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2020-7961 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Jun. 17, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2020-7961', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'active'}, {'automatable': 'yes'}, {'technicalImpact': 'total'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2025-02-04T19:57:35.405600Z'} -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
Jun. 17, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'vendor': 'n/a', 'product': 'n/a', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': 'n/a'}]}] -
Modified Analysis by [email protected]
Nov. 07, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Changed Reference Type MITRE: https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities Types: Vendor Advisory MITRE: https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities Types: Broken Link, Vendor Advisory Changed Reference Type CVE: https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities Types: Vendor Advisory CVE: https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities Types: Broken Link, Vendor Advisory Added Reference Type CISA-ADP: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-7961 Types: US Government Resource -
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Oct. 22, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-7961 -
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Oct. 21, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Removed Reference https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-7961 -
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Oct. 21, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-7961 -
Modified Analysis by [email protected]
Mar. 14, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Changed CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:liferay:liferay_portal:*:*:*:*:community:*:*:* versions from (including) 7.2.0 OR *cpe:2.3:a:liferay:liferay_portal:*:*:*:*:community:*:*:* versions from (excluding) 7.2.1 Changed Reference Type MITRE: https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/HbL5mxmVrnXW/content/id/117954271 Types: Vendor Advisory MITRE: https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/HbL5mxmVrnXW/content/id/117954271 Types: Broken Link, Vendor Advisory Changed Reference Type CVE: https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/HbL5mxmVrnXW/content/id/117954271 Types: Vendor Advisory CVE: https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/HbL5mxmVrnXW/content/id/117954271 Types: Broken Link, Vendor Advisory -
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Feb. 04, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Added CWE CWE-502 -
CVE Modified by af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
Nov. 21, 2024
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157254/Liferay-Portal-Java-Unmarshalling-Remote-Code-Execution.html Added Reference http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/158392/Liferay-Portal-Remote-Code-Execution.html Added Reference https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities Added Reference https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/HbL5mxmVrnXW/content/id/117954271 Added Reference https://research.checkpoint.com/2021/freakout-leveraging-newest-vulnerabilities-for-creating-a-botnet/ -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
May. 14, 2024
Action Type Old Value New Value -
Modified Analysis by [email protected]
Jan. 30, 2021
Action Type Old Value New Value Changed Reference Type http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157254/Liferay-Portal-Java-Unmarshalling-Remote-Code-Execution.html No Types Assigned http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157254/Liferay-Portal-Java-Unmarshalling-Remote-Code-Execution.html Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry Changed Reference Type http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/158392/Liferay-Portal-Remote-Code-Execution.html No Types Assigned http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/158392/Liferay-Portal-Remote-Code-Execution.html Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry Changed Reference Type https://research.checkpoint.com/2021/freakout-leveraging-newest-vulnerabilities-for-creating-a-botnet/ No Types Assigned https://research.checkpoint.com/2021/freakout-leveraging-newest-vulnerabilities-for-creating-a-botnet/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
Jan. 19, 2021
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference https://research.checkpoint.com/2021/freakout-leveraging-newest-vulnerabilities-for-creating-a-botnet/ [No Types Assigned] -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
Jul. 12, 2020
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/158392/Liferay-Portal-Remote-Code-Execution.html [No Types Assigned] -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
Apr. 15, 2020
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157254/Liferay-Portal-Java-Unmarshalling-Remote-Code-Execution.html [No Types Assigned] -
Initial Analysis by [email protected]
Mar. 24, 2020
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CVSS V2 NIST (AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P) Added CVSS V3.1 NIST AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Changed Reference Type https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities No Types Assigned https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities Vendor Advisory Changed Reference Type https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/HbL5mxmVrnXW/content/id/117954271 No Types Assigned https://portal.liferay.dev/learn/security/known-vulnerabilities/-/asset_publisher/HbL5mxmVrnXW/content/id/117954271 Vendor Advisory Added CWE NIST CWE-502 Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:liferay:liferay_portal:*:*:*:*:community:*:*:* versions up to (including) 7.2.0