# CVE-2019-16891: Liferay Portal Allows RCE via Deserialization of a JSON Payload

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary commands on Liferay Portal CE by sending a malicious JSON payload that triggers unsafe deserialization.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 4 Oct 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** CVE-2022-44147, GHSA-372h-p48h-xw8q

## What is CVE-2019-16891?

CVE-2019-16891 is a critical unsafe deserialization vulnerability in Liferay Liferay Portal, published on 4 Oct 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Liferay Portal CE 6.2.5 allows remote command execution because of deserialization of a JSON payload.

Weakness: CWE-502 (Deserialization of Untrusted Data)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-16891?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom` | Maven | All versions | 7.1.1 |
| `com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom` | Maven | All versions | 7.1.1 |

Products: Liferay Liferay Portal.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-16891?

Upgrade com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom to 7.1.1 or later.

## Is CVE-2019-16891 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-16891 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- https://github.com/rai0ffs3c/CVE-2019-16891-Liferay-deserialization-RCE (github_poc): https://github.com/rai0ffs3c/CVE-2019-16891-Liferay-deserialization-RCE

## 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-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)
- [CVE-2018-10795](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-10795/): File upload in n/a (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-16891 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-16891 is a critical unsafe deserialization vulnerability in Liferay Liferay Portal, published on 4 Oct 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-16891 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom (Maven): affected all versions; fixed in 7.1.1
- com.liferay.portal:release.portal.bom (Maven): affected all versions; fixed in 7.1.1

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-2019-16891/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16891/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-16891
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-16891
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-16891

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16891/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.