ElasticsearchDatabase / datastore · Elastic
CVE-2021-22147
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 · uneditedElasticsearch before 7.14.0 did not apply document and field level security to searchable snapshots. This could lead to an authenticated user gaining access to information that they are unauthorized 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 confidenceElasticsearch before version 7.14.0 contained a security bypass where document-level security (DLS) and field-level security (FLS) were not enforced on searchable snapshots. This allowed authenticated users to potentially view data they should not have access to, as the security controls were silently ignored for this feature.
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
>= 7.11.0, < 7.14.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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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Determine installed Elasticsearch versionRun `curl -XGET 'localhost:9200/'` or check the elasticsearch service logs for the version number at startupAffected if Version is 7.11.0, 7.11.1, 7.11.2, 7.12.0, 7.12.1, 7.13.0, 7.13.1, 7.13.2, 7.13.3, 7.13.4, or any 7.14.0 release candidate (versions less than 7.14.0 but greater than or equal to 7.11.0)
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Identify searchable snapshot indicesQuery the cluster state with `GET /_cluster/state?filter_path=metadata.indices.*.settings.index.searchable_snapshot` to find indices that have the searchable_snapshot setting definedAffected if Any index exists with the `index.searchable_snapshot` setting present in the metadata
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Verify document-level or field-level security is configuredReview index privileges in role definitions via `GET /_security/role` and check for roles that have grant clauses with `query` (DLS) or `fields` (FLS) applied to indices that use searchable snapshotsAffected if Roles exist with DLS queries or FLS field restrictions applied to searchable snapshot indices
Environment is affected if running Elasticsearch version 7.11.0 through 7.13.x and searchable snapshots are in use with DLS or FLS configured on those indices.
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.
dbcve · scoped7.14.0
Upgrade Elasticsearch to version 7.14.0 or later to ensure document and field level security controls are properly applied to searchable snapshots.
Elasticsearch 7.14.0
- 1. Review the Elasticsearch upgrade documentation at https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/rolling-upgrades.html
- 2. Take a snapshot of your current Elasticsearch cluster to backup all data before upgrading
- 3. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first to verify compatibility
- 4. Plan for appropriate downtime window based on cluster size and upgrade method
- 5. For rolling upgrade: stop non-essential indexing and pause writes, then upgrade master-eligible nodes one at a time
- 6. For full cluster restart: stop the entire cluster, upgrade all nodes, then restart
- 7. After upgrade, verify that document and field level security settings are properly applied to searchable snapshots
- 8. Test that DLS (document level security) and FLS (field level security) policies are enforced on searchable snapshot indices
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Elasticsearch
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,656.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-22147 — 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-2021-22147 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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