ElasticsearchDatabase / datastore · Elastic
CVE-2015-1427
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe Groovy scripting engine in Elasticsearch before 1.3.8 and 1.4.x before 1.4.3 allows remote attackers to bypass the sandbox protection mechanism and execute arbitrary shell commands via a crafted script.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceElasticsearch versions before 1.3.8 and 1.4.x before 1.4.3 contain a flaw in the Groovy scripting engine where the sandbox protection mechanism can be bypassed using specially crafted scripts, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary shell commands on the host system.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
ElasticsearchDatabase / datastore
< 1.3.8>= 1.4.0, < 1.4.3
FuseApplication
= 1.0.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify Elasticsearch installation locationLocate the Elasticsearch installation directory, common paths include /usr/share/elasticsearch, /opt/elasticsearch, or the service home directory. Check the version by running 'elasticsearch --version' or inspecting the 'elasticsearch-*.jar' file in the lib directory.Affected if Cannot determine version to compare against vulnerable ranges (<1.3.8 or >=1.4.0 to <1.4.3)
-
Determine installed Elasticsearch versionRun the command: curl -XGET 'localhost:9200/' or query the cluster health endpoint to retrieve the version number from the JSON response under the 'version.number' field.Affected if Version is less than 1.3.8, or greater than or equal to 1.4.0 but less than 1.4.3
-
Check if Groovy scripting is enabledSend a GET request to the scripts API: curl -XGET 'localhost:9200/_search?pretty' with a Groovy script in the query (e.g., using 'script': 'Runtime.getRuntime().exec("id")'). Alternatively, check the elasticsearch.yml configuration file for 'script.disable_dynamic' set to false, or absence of 'script.groovy.sandbox.enabled: false'.Affected if Groovy scripting is enabled and responding to script execution requests (vulnerability only applies when Groovy scripting is available)
-
Verify network exposure of Elasticsearch serviceCheck if Elasticsearch ports (default 9200/9300) are bound to non-localhost interfaces by reviewing the network.bind_host setting in elasticsearch.yml, or by running 'netstat -tlnp | grep elasticsearch' to confirm listening addresses.Affected if Elasticsearch is accessible from network (combined with vulnerable version and enabled Groovy, this enables remote exploitation)
-
Check for Red Hat Fuse if applicableIf the system runs Red Hat Fuse, verify the embedded Elasticsearch version by locating the jboss-fuse directory and examining the version.info file or the elasticsearch jar version bundled within the Fuse installation.Affected if Red Hat Fuse version equals 1.0.0 specifically, as this version includes the vulnerable Elasticsearch version
System is affected if Elasticsearch version is <1.3.8 or >=1.4.0 but <1.4.3, Groovy scripting is enabled, and the service is network-accessible (or if Red Hat Fuse 1.0.0 is running with embedded Elasticsearch).
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped1.3.81.4.3
Upgrade Elasticsearch to version 1.3.8 or later, or 1.4.3 or later. If immediate upgrade is not possible, disable dynamic scripting or restrict access to the scripting APIs via network controls.
Elasticsearch 1.3.8 or 1.4.3 (depending on your current branch)
- Backup your Elasticsearch data and configuration files before proceeding
- Stop the Elasticsearch service
- Upgrade Elasticsearch to version 1.3.8 (if on 1.3.x branch) or version 1.4.3 (if on 1.4.x branch) using your package manager or by downloading from elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch
- Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the Elasticsearch version
- Restart the Elasticsearch service
- Test that your applications function correctly against the upgraded Elasticsearch
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Elasticsearch
Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,648.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-1427 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-1427 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data