# CVE-2019-11444: Command injection in n/a

> Administrators can execute OS commands via the Groovy script console, though the vendor disputes this as a vulnerability since it is an intended feature.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 22 Apr 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-h3qm-pp82-wpc7

## What is CVE-2019-11444?

CVE-2019-11444 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Liferay Liferay Portal, published on 22 Apr 2019. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in Liferay Portal CE 7.1.2 GA3. An attacker can use Liferay's Groovy script console to execute OS commands. Commands can be executed via a [command].execute() call, as demonstrated by "def cmd =" in the ServerAdminPortlet_script value to group/control_panel/manage. Valid credentials for an application administrator user account are required. NOTE: The developer disputes this as a vulnerability since it is a feature for administrators to run groovy scripts and therefore not a design flaw

Weakness: CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-11444?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Liferay Liferay Portal.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-11444?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-11444 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-11444 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-11444 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- Liferay CE Portal < 7.1.2 ga3 - Remote Command Execution (Metasploit) (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Liferay Liferay Portal

- [CVE-2020-7961](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7961/): Liferay Portal Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-33990](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-33990/): File upload in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-16891](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16891/): Liferay Portal Allows RCE via Deserialization of a JSON Payload (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-47797](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-47797/): Liferay Portal XSS with `p_l_back_url_title` on edit content page (critical 9.6)
- [CVE-2020-13445](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-13445/): Liferay Portal and Liferay DXP Vulnerable to Arbitrary Code Execution (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-11444 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-11444 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Liferay Liferay Portal, published on 22 Apr 2019. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-11444 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Liferay Liferay Portal. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-11444/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-11444/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-11444
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-11444
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-11444

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-11444/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.