Elastic Cloud EnterpriseApplication · Elastic
CVE-2018-3825
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 · uneditedIn Elastic Cloud Enterprise (ECE) versions prior to 1.1.4 a default master encryption key is used in the process of granting ZooKeeper access to Elasticsearch clusters. Unless explicitly overwritten, this master key is predictable across all ECE deployments. If an attacker can connect to ZooKeeper directly they would be able to access configuration information of other tenants if their cluster ID is known.
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 confidenceElastic Cloud Enterprise uses a default master encryption key for ZooKeeper access to Elasticsearch clusters that is predictable across all ECE deployments. An attacker with direct ZooKeeper access and knowledge of a cluster ID can access configuration information of other tenants.
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
Elastic Cloud EnterpriseApplication
< 1.1.4CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check ECE versionLocate and inspect the installed Elastic Cloud Enterprise version. This is typically available via the ECE admin console, installation logs, or by querying the ECE management API endpoint that reports the platform version.Affected if The installed version is any release prior to 1.1.4 (versions 1.0.x through 1.1.3 are affected)
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Identify the master encryption key configurationLocate the configuration file or environment setting that defines the master encryption key used for ZooKeeper access. In ECE this is typically set in the deployment configuration or container environment variables. Inspect whether a custom unique key is configured or if a default/predictable value is present.Affected if The default master encryption key remains in use, or the key value appears to be a well-known default rather than a unique strong key generated for this deployment
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Verify ZooKeeper access controlsExamine the ZooKeeper service configuration to determine if direct external access to ZooKeeper is permitted. Check network ACLs, firewall rules, and ZooKeeper listener configuration to see if ZooKeeper ports are exposed beyond the ECE management plane.Affected if ZooKeeper accepts direct connections from untrusted networks or non-administrative interfaces, allowing an attacker to reach ZooKeeper directly
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Confirm cluster ID exposureDetermine whether cluster IDs are visible or discoverable to non-administrative users. Check if tenant cluster IDs can be obtained through API responses, logs, or documentation accessible to non-admin users.Affected if Cluster IDs for other tenants can be obtained by an attacker with direct ZooKeeper access, enabling them to target specific tenant configurations
A user is affected if running any ECE version prior to 1.1.4 AND the default master encryption key is still configured AND direct ZooKeeper access is available to an attacker who could obtain a cluster ID.
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 data1.1.4
Upgrade to ECE 1.1.4 or later, and ensure the default master encryption key is replaced with a unique, strong key in all deployments.
Fix this in Elastic Cloud Enterprise
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-3825 — 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-2018-3825 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
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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