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ElasticsearchDatabase / datastore · Elastic

CVE-2021-22135

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-05-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.8.15 / 7.11.2 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Elasticsearch versions before 7.11.2 and 6.8.15 contain a document disclosure flaw was found in the Elasticsearch suggester and profile API when Document and Field Level Security are enabled. The suggester and profile API are normally disabled for an index when document level security is enabled on the index. Certain queries are able to enable the profiler and suggester which could lead to disclosing the existence of documents and fields the attacker should not be able to view.

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

Elasticsearch versions before 7.11.2 and 6.8.15 contain an information disclosure flaw in the suggester and profile API when Document Level Security (DLS) or Field Level Security (FLS) is enabled. Although these APIs are supposed to be disabled when DLS is active on an index, certain queries can still trigger the profiler and suggester, allowing attackers to discover the existence of protected documents and fields they should not have access to.

MitigationUpgrade Elasticsearch to version 7.11.2 or 6.8.15 or later to patch this vulnerability. Additionally, review and audit access controls to ensure DLS/FLS policies properly restrict access to the suggester and profile APIs.

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
ElasticsearchDatabase / datastore
Affected:< 6.8.15>= 7.11.0, < 7.11.2

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
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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. Check Elasticsearch version
    Run `curl -s localhost:9200` or `GET /` on the REST API to retrieve the version number. Compare against vulnerable versions: < 6.8.15 or >= 7.11.0 to < 7.11.2.
    Affected if Version is below 6.8.15 or between 7.11.0 and 7.11.2 (exclusive)
  2. Identify indices with DLS or FLS configured
    Review index mappings and security role definitions. Query the security API: `GET /_security/role` and check for any roles containing "document_level_security" or "field_level_security" fields with non-null configurations.
    Affected if Any index has DLS or FLS enabled in its security role definitions
  3. Verify the suggester API exposes protected documents
    Send a suggest request on an index with DLS/FLS enabled using a prefix that would match protected documents: `POST /<index>/_search?suggest` or the suggester endpoint. Check if the response returns document suggestions that should be hidden by DLS/FLS.
    Affected if The suggester API returns results for documents the requesting user should not be able to see
  4. Verify the profile API exposes protected field existence
    Send a profiled search request on an index with DLS/FLS enabled: `POST /<index>/_search?profile=true` with a query. Inspect the profile output for references to field names or document IDs that should be hidden by DLS/FLS policies.
    Affected if The profile output reveals the existence of fields or documents that the user lacks permission to access

You are affected if your Elasticsearch version is in the vulnerable range AND you have DLS or FLS enabled on any index AND the suggester or profile API can be induced to disclose protected document or field existence.

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 6.8.15 / 7.11.2 or later
Fixed in 6.8.157.11.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Elasticsearch to version 7.11.2 or 6.8.15 or later to patch this vulnerability. Additionally, review and audit access controls to ensure DLS/FLS policies properly restrict access to the suggester and profile APIs.

Fix this in Elasticsearch Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2021-22135 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