CVE-2021-38268
MEDIUMCVE-2021-38268 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) Incorrect Default Permissions vulnerability in com.liferay:com.liferay.dynamic.data.mapping.service. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2021-38268 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP has incorrect default permissions for site members
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2021-38268 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 365,017 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
com.liferay:com.liferay.dynamic.data.mapping.service☕com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom☕com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom☕com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom☕com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.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
The Dynamic Data Mapping module in Liferay Portal 7.0.0 through 7.3.6, and Liferay DXP 7.0 before fix pack 101, 7.1 before fix pack 21, 7.2 before fix pack 10 and 7.3 before fix pack 2 incorrectly sets default permissions for site members, which allows remote authenticated users with the site member role to add and duplicate forms, via the UI or the API.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | com.liferay:com.liferay.dynamic.data.mapping.service | all versions | 6.0.0 |
| ☕Maven | com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom | ≥ 7.0.0&&< 7.0.10.fp101 | 7.0.10.fp101 |
| ☕Maven | com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom | ≥ 7.1.0&&< 7.1.10.fp21 | 7.1.10.fp21 |
| ☕Maven | com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom | ≥ 7.2.0&&< 7.2.10.fp10 | 7.2.10.fp10 |
| ☕Maven | com.liferay.portal:release.dxp.bom | ≥ 7.3.0&&< 7.3.10.fp2 | 7.3.10.fp2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for com.liferay:com.liferay.dynamic.data.mapping.service. 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:com.liferay.dynamic.data.mapping.service to 6.0.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-38268 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-2021-38268 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-2021-38268. 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-2021-38268 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2021-38268 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.