CVE-2019-13420
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 · uneditedSearch Guard versions before 21.0 had an timing side channel issue when using the internal user database.
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 confidenceA timing side-channel vulnerability in Search Guard's internal user database authentication mechanism allowed attackers to potentially infer valid usernames or password hashes by measuring response times, enabling credential guessing or brute-force attacks against the authentication 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< 21.0CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/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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Verify Search Guard installation and versionCheck the installed Search Guard version by reviewing the Search Guard plugin JAR file in the Elasticsearch plugins directory, or query the Search Guard configuration endpoint if accessible. Common paths: /usr/share/elasticsearch/plugins/search-guard-* or /opt/elasticsearch/plugins/search-guard-*.Affected if Search Guard version is present and less than 21.0 (e.g., 20.x, 19.x, etc.)
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Identify if internal user database authentication is configuredExamine the Search Guard configuration file (typically sg_internal_users.yml or the internal users configuration) in the Search Guard config directory. Look for defined user entries with hashed passwords.Affected if The sg_internal_users.yml file contains user definitions with password hashes, indicating internal user database authentication is enabled.
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Confirm authentication is handled by Search GuardVerify that Search Guard is actively protecting the cluster by checking sg_config.yml or by confirming that Search Guard authentication is required for API access. Test by making an authenticated request.Affected if Search Guard is enforcing authentication and the internal user database is the authentication backend in use.
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Assess network exposure of authentication endpointsReview network configuration and firewall rules to determine if the Elasticsearch REST API ports (typically 9200 or 5601) are accessible from untrusted networks. Check if authentication endpoints are exposed publicly.Affected if The Elasticsearch API ports accepting Search Guard authentication are reachable from external or untrusted networks.
Your environment is affected if Search Guard version is below 21.0 AND internal user database authentication is configured AND these authentication endpoints are network-accessible.
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 data21.0
Upgrade Search Guard to version 21.0 or later which addresses the timing side-channel issue; in the interim, implement rate limiting, account lockout policies, or network-level restrictions on authentication endpoints.
- 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-2019-13420 — 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-2019-13420 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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