How severe is CVE-2021-33321?

CVE-2021-33321 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-33321?

CVE-2021-33321 affects the following packages: com.liferay.portal:com.liferay.portal.impl (Maven), com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2021-33321?

Update com.liferay.portal:com.liferay.portal.impl to 5.11.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-33321 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2021-33321 in my Maven dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for com.liferay.portal:com.liferay.portal.impl, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2021-33321 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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.

Is CVE-2021-33321 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2021-33321 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2021-33321?

CVE-2021-33321 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 1.4%, placing it in the 73th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2021-33321?

CVE-2021-33321 is classified as CWE-640 (CWE-640). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2021-33321 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-33321 was published on August 3, 2021 and was last updated on October 24, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

☕

☕ Maven

Not in CISA KEV

HIGH severity

CVE-2021-33321 — com.liferay.portal.impl

HIGHFix: liferay/liferay-portal@06df28c

CVE-2021-33321 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-640 vulnerability in com.liferay.portal:com.liferay.portal.impl. A fix is available for com.liferay.portal:com.liferay.portal.impl — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP insecure default configuration

Also known asGHSA-jfch-m2x3-2v66

Published

Aug 3, 2021

Updated

Oct 24, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

2 / 2

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 6, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

1.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs73th percentile — riskier than 73% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

2 pkgs affected

☕com.liferay.portal:com.liferay.portal.impl☕com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom

Real-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

Insecure default configuration in portal services implementation before 5.11.0 in Liferay Portal 6.2.3 through 7.3.2, and Liferay DXP before 7.3, allows remote attackers to enumerate user email address via the forgot password functionality. The portal.property login.secure.forgot.password should be defaulted to true.

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`com.liferay.portal:com.liferay.portal.impl`	all versions	5.11.0`com.liferay.portal:com.liferay.portal.impl:5.11.0`
☕Maven	`com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom`	all versions	7.3.3`com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom:7.3.3`

Affected Products

2 products · 2 configurations

Application

dxpliferay

< 7.3

range

Application

liferay portalliferay

≥ 6.2.3 && < 7.3.3

range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for com.liferay.portal:com.liferay.portal.impl, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update com.liferay.portal:com.liferay.portal.impl to 5.11.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-33321 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-33321 in your dependencies?

Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

7.5/10CVSS v3 base

Vector breakdown

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

None

Availability

None

Raw vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CWE Classification

CWE-640CWE-640

Weaponization

No Nuclei template, Metasploit module or public proof-of-concept found.

OpenSSF Scorecard

Package health score

liferay-portal

2.5/10

Code-Review0/10

Maintained10/10

Branch-Protection0/10

Assessed Nov 2, 2026

Timeline

Disclosed

Aug 3, 2021

Last updated

Oct 24, 2026

Identifiers

CVE-2021-33321

GHSA-jfch-m2x3-2v66

References

Advisoryhelp.liferay.com Advisoryportal.liferay.dev Advisorynvd.nist.gov · CVE 2021 33321 Webgithub.com · 06df28c5ad618afed967fa485418e6cc29c70f38 Webgithub.com · 37de1d78d9b1c4a473e3233a6ea146c741075e18 Packagegithub.com · liferay portal

Related vulnerabilities

This CVE is high severity — higher than any of the other 8 CVEs affecting com.liferay.portal.impl (highest there: moderate).

CVE-2025-62276CVE-2025-62261CVE-2025-62254CVE-2025-62249CVE-2025-62252CVE-2025-43813CVE-2025-43809CVE-2025-43801

Provenance

Sources

OSV.devNVDFIRST.org (EPSS)

Last verifiedOct 24, 2026

CVE-2021-33321 — com.liferay.portal.impl

EPSS Exploitation Probability

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

Description

Affected Packages

Affected Products

Detection & mitigation playbook

Detect

Fix

Workarounds

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CVE-2021-33321 in your dependencies?