dbcve.org
X PackApplication · Elastic

CVE-2018-3822

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2018-03-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
X-Pack Security versions 6.2.0, 6.2.1, and 6.2.2 are vulnerable to a user impersonation attack via incorrect XML canonicalization and DOM traversal. An attacker might have been able to impersonate a legitimate user if the SAML Identity Provider allows for self registration with arbitrary identifiers and the attacker can register an account which an identifier that shares a suffix with a legitimate account. Both of those conditions must be true in order to exploit this flaw.

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

X-Pack Security versions 6.2.0-6.2.2 contains a SAML authentication bypass vulnerability caused by incorrect XML canonicalization and DOM traversal during SAML response processing. An attacker with access to a SAML Identity Provider that permits self-registration with arbitrary identifiers can register an account with an identifier sharing a suffix with a legitimate user's identifier, enabling impersonation.

MitigationUpgrade X-Pack Security to version 6.2.3 or later. Additionally, restrict SAML Identity Provider self-registration capabilities to prevent arbitrary identifier assignment.

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
X PackApplication
Affected:= 6.2.0= 6.2.1= 6.2.2

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
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 checks

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

  1. Determine X-Pack Security version
    Query the Elasticsearch nodes info endpoint: GET /_nodes?filter_path=nodes.*.version,nodes.*.plugins.name. Retrieve the 'version' field from the response and check the 'name' field under 'plugins' for 'security'.
    Affected if The version returned is 6.2.0, 6.2.1, or 6.2.2 AND X-Pack Security is listed as an installed plugin.
  2. Verify SAML authentication is configured
    Inspect the elasticsearch.yml configuration file for SAML-related settings. Look for 'xpack.security.authc.realms.saml' entries, or query the realm configuration via GET /_security/realm/_all?filter_path=realms.*.type.
    Affected if SAML realm type is configured and enabled in the security authentication settings.
  3. Confirm SAML response processing is active
    Check if the SAML realm is listed as active by querying GET /_security/realm/<realm-name> and verifying the 'type' is 'saml' with 'enabled' set to true, or review audit logs for recent SAML authentication events.
    Affected if SAML authentication realm is actively processing authentication requests.

A user is affected if their environment has X-Pack Security version 6.2.0, 6.2.1, or 6.2.2 AND SAML authentication realm is enabled and processing SAML responses.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade X-Pack Security to version 6.2.3 or later. Additionally, restrict SAML Identity Provider self-registration capabilities to prevent arbitrary identifier assignment.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Elasticsearch 6.2.3 or later (recommended: 6.8.x LTS branch)

  1. 1. Back up your Elasticsearch cluster configuration and data before upgrading.
  2. 2. Stop the Elasticsearch cluster to ensure a clean upgrade process.
  3. 3. Download Elasticsearch 6.2.3 or a later stable version (recommended: 6.8.x LTS for long-term stability) from elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch.
  4. 4. Install the new version, ensuring X-Pack Security is included (in 6.2.3+, the vulnerability is patched).
  5. 5. Review and validate your SAML authentication configuration to ensure it follows security best practices.
  6. 6. Start the Elasticsearch cluster and verify all nodes are running properly.
  7. 7. Test SAML authentication to confirm users can authenticate correctly after the upgrade.
  8. 8. Monitor logs for any authentication errors or unusual activity.
Caveat Minor version upgrade within 6.x should have minimal breaking changes; however, review release notes for any configuration changes

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in X Pack Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,680
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,288.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-3822 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2018-3822 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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