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Published Jun. 30, 2025

Requests to Liferay with an invalid HOST request HTTP header returns the default site

Written By

Emma Carr-Gardner

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Issue

  • Requests to Liferay with an invalid HOST request HTTP header that does not match a configured Site URL returns the default site instead of returning an error response. 

    Reproduce

    Steps to reproduce (case 1)

    1. Set `127.0.0.1 www.example.com` in the hosts file, but do NOT create a virtual instance.
    2. Navigate to www.example.com:8080 which will return the default site and uses the URL www.example.com:8080.

    Steps to reproduce (case 2)

    1. Using `curl "https://mysite.com/"   -H "Host: I_DO_NOT_EXIST"`
    2. The default site is returned in the terminal.

Environment

  • DXP 7.2+

Resolution

  • If you pass a host name that is bound as a virtual hostname, Liferay will render the site that it is bound to, but if there is no match, it will respond with the default site.
  • A 404 page for an invalid host name should be served by a web server tier or something similar.

Additional Information

 

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