HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2020-15842
HIGH

CVE-2020-15842

CWE-502Published: July 20, 2020· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

8.1
CVSS v3.1

Official Description

Liferay Portal before 7.3.0, and Liferay DXP 7.0 before fix pack 90, 7.1 before fix pack 17, and 7.2 before fix pack 5, allows man-in-the-middle attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted serialized payloads, because of insecure deserialization.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2020-15842 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 8.1.

From a weakness classification perspective (CWE-502): Insecure deserialization vulnerabilities allow attackers to inject malicious objects during deserialization, potentially enabling remote code execution.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityHigh
Privileges Req.None
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

liferay2 product(s)
digital experience platformliferay portal
Source: NVD CPE · 4 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

All References (4)

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2020-15842
CVSS Score8.1 / 10
SeverityHIGH
WeaknessCWE-502
CISA KEVNo
Affected1 vendor(s)
PublishedJul 20, 2020

Related CVEs (CWE-502)

Recommended Actions

  • Apply vendor patches immediately
  • Monitor CVE-2020-15842 in threat intel feeds
  • Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.