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LogstashApplication · Elastic

CVE-2016-1000221

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-06-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.3.3 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Logstash prior to version 2.3.4, Elasticsearch Output plugin would log to file HTTP authorization headers which could contain sensitive information.

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 confidence

The Elasticsearch Output plugin in Logstash versions prior to 2.3.4 writes HTTP authorization headers to log files. These headers contain authentication credentials (such as API keys or bearer tokens) used when communicating with Elasticsearch, exposing sensitive authentication information in plaintext logs.

MitigationUpgrade Logstash to version 2.3.4 or later to prevent authorization headers from being logged. Additionally, review existing log files for exposure of credentials and rotate any compromised credentials as a precaution.

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
LogstashApplication
Affected:<= 2.3.3

CVSS 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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Logstash version
    Run `logstash --version` or check the version file in the Logstash installation directory
    Affected if The version is 2.3.3 or earlier (any version less than 2.3.4)
  2. Verify Elasticsearch output plugin is in use
    Examine your Logstash configuration files (typically in /etc/logstash/conf.d/ or the pipeline configuration) for an output block containing `elasticsearch` as the plugin type
    Affected if Logstash is configured to output to Elasticsearch using the elasticsearch output plugin
  3. Search log files for authorization headers
    Search Logstash log files (commonly in /var/log/logstash/ or the logs directory) for strings containing 'Authorization:' or 'Basic ' or 'Bearer ' using grep or similar tools
    Affected if Plaintext authorization headers (Basic auth base64 strings or Bearer tokens) appear in any Logstash log files

You are affected if your Logstash version is 2.3.3 or earlier AND you use the Elasticsearch output plugin AND your logs contain plaintext authorization headers.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.3.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Logstash to version 2.3.4 or later to prevent authorization headers from being logged. Additionally, review existing log files for exposure of credentials and rotate any compromised credentials as a precaution.

Fix this in Logstash Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-1000221 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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