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ElasticsearchDatabase / datastore · Elastic

CVE-2021-22137

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
In Elasticsearch versions before 7.11.2 and 6.8.15 a document disclosure flaw was found when Document or Field Level Security is used. Search queries do not properly preserve security permissions when executing certain cross-cluster search queries. This could result in the search disclosing the existence of documents the attacker should not be able to view. This could result in an attacker gaining additional insight into potentially sensitive indices.

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 confidence

Elasticsearch versions before 7.11.2 and 6.8.15 contain a security bypass where Document Level Security (DLS) and Field Level Security (FLS) permissions are not properly preserved during cross-cluster search queries. This allows authenticated attackers to discover the existence of documents in protected indices they should not have access to, leaking sensitive metadata about restricted data.

MitigationUpgrade Elasticsearch to version 7.11.2+ or 6.8.15+ and audit all cross-cluster search configurations to verify DLS/FLS controls are functioning correctly after the upgrade.

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 installed Elasticsearch version
    Run `GET /` against the Elasticsearch API or check the version file in the Elasticsearch installation directory. Compare the version number against the affected ranges: < 6.8.15 or >= 7.11.0 and < 7.11.2.
    Affected if The installed version falls within < 6.8.15 or >= 7.11.0 and < 7.11.2.
  2. Determine if cross-cluster search is enabled
    Query the cluster settings using `GET /_cluster/settings` and look for any configured `cluster.remote` entries, or run `GET /_remote/info` to retrieve remote cluster connections.
    Affected if Any remote cluster connections are configured in the Elasticsearch cluster.
  3. Identify indices with Document Level Security or Field Level Security configured
    Review the defined roles in the security realm. Use `GET /_security/role` to list all roles, then inspect each role for `indices` entries containing `document_level_security` or `field_level_security` definitions.
    Affected if Any roles contain DLS or FLS configurations applied to indices that are accessed via cross-cluster search.
  4. Verify cross-cluster search traffic patterns
    Review audit logs for cross-cluster search requests by searching for action groups like `indices:data/read/search` combined with remote cluster indices (format: `<remote_cluster>:index_name`). Check for any queries targeting protected indices across clusters.
    Affected if Cross-cluster search queries have been executed against indices that have DLS or FLS policies defined.

You are affected if your Elasticsearch version is below 6.8.15 or between 7.11.0 and 7.11.2, you have cross-cluster search enabled, and DLS/FLS policies are applied to indices accessed across remote clusters.

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+ and audit all cross-cluster search configurations to verify DLS/FLS controls are functioning correctly after the upgrade.

Fix this in Elasticsearch Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
Get the upgrade done

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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-2021-22137 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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