CVE-2019-6588
MEDIUMCVE-2019-6588 is a medium-severity (CVSS 4.7) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2019-6588 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Liferay Portal Allows Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) via the SimpleCaptcha API
Blast Radius
com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bomReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
In Liferay Portal before 7.1 CE GA4, an XSS vulnerability exists in the SimpleCaptcha API when custom code passes unsanitized input into the "url" parameter of the JSP taglib call <liferay-ui:captcha url="<%= url %>" /> or <liferay-captcha:captcha url="<%= url %>" />. Liferay Portal out-of-the-box behavior with no customizations is not vulnerable.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom | all versions | 7.1.0 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Liferay Portal 7.1 CE GA=3 / SimpleCaptcha API - Cross-Site Scripting
by Valerio Brussani · Jun 11, 2019
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom to 7.1.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2019-6588 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2019-6588 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2019-6588. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2019-6588 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2019-6588 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.