Elasticsearch X PackDatabase / datastore · Elastic
CVE-2018-3824
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 · uneditedX-Pack Machine Learning versions before 6.2.4 and 5.6.9 had a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability. If an attacker is able to inject data into an index that has a ML job running against it, then when another user views the results of the ML job it could allow the attacker to obtain sensitive information from or perform destructive actions on behalf of that other ML user.
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 · moderate confidenceStored XSS vulnerability in X-Pack Machine Learning allows attackers who can inject data into an index with a running ML job to execute malicious scripts when other users view the ML job results, potentially stealing sensitive information or performing actions on behalf of victims.
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
Elasticsearch X PackDatabase / datastore
< 5.6.9>= 6.0.0, < 6.2.4
Kibana X PackApplication
< 5.6.9>= 6.0.0, < 6.2.4
Logstash X PackApplication
< 5.6.9>= 6.1.0, < 6.2.4CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check Elasticsearch version with X-PackRun: curl -s http://localhost:9200/ | grep version_number, or check the installed elasticsearch-x-pack package versionAffected if Version is < 5.6.9, or >= 6.0.0 and < 6.2.4, and X-Pack ML is installed/enabled
-
Check if X-Pack Machine Learning is enabledVerify in elasticsearch.yml that xpack.ml.enabled is not set to false, or check for ML nodes: curl -s http://localhost:9200/_nodes/_all/settings?pretty | grep mlAffected if X-Pack ML is enabled and running on the cluster
-
Identify active ML jobs processing user-controlled indicesRun: curl -s http://localhost:9200/_ml/anomaly_detectors/_all?pretty to list ML jobs, then review the datafeed indices for each jobAffected if Any ML job is running against indices that untrusted users can write to
-
Check Kibana version with X-Pack (if used)Check installed kibana-x-pack package version, or access Kibana and view About/Stack Management > MonitoringAffected if Kibana version is < 5.6.9, or >= 6.0.0 and < 6.2.4, with X-Pack ML UI accessible
Environment is affected if X-Pack Machine Learning is enabled, the installed version falls within the vulnerable ranges, and there are ML jobs processing data from indices that untrusted users can write to.
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.
From vendor data5.6.96.2.4
Upgrade X-Pack Machine Learning to version 6.2.4 or later, or 5.6.9 or later. Review and sanitize data being indexed into indices used by ML jobs as a temporary mitigation.
Fix this in Elasticsearch X Pack
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,888.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-3824 — 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-2018-3824 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