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Enterprise SearchApplication · Elastic

CVE-2023-49923

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.17.16 / 8.11.2 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
An issue was discovered by Elastic whereby the Documents API of App Search logged the raw contents of indexed documents at INFO log level. Depending on the contents of such documents, this could lead to the insertion of sensitive or private information in the App Search logs. Elastic has released 8.11.2 and 7.17.16 that resolves this issue by changing the log level at which these are logged to DEBUG, which is disabled by default.

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

The App Search Documents API in Elastic was logging the full raw contents of indexed documents at INFO log level, causing sensitive or private information from document bodies to be written to application logs.

MitigationUpgrade Elastic to version 8.11.2 or 7.17.16 where the document logging is changed to DEBUG level (disabled by default), or audit existing logs for sensitive data exposure.

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
Enterprise SearchApplication
Affected:>= 7.0.0, < 7.17.16>= 8.0.0, < 8.11.2

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine Elastic Enterprise Search version
    Run 'curl -X GET "http://localhost:9200"' or check the installed package version using your package manager (dpkg -l | grep enterprise-search or rpm -qa | grep enterprise-search)
    Affected if The version is 7.0.0 through 7.17.15, or 8.0.0 through 8.11.1
  2. Confirm App Search is deployed
    Check if the App Search feature is running by querying the Enterprise Search health endpoint: 'curl -X GET "http://localhost:3002/api/ent/v1/internal/health' (port 3002 is default for Enterprise Search)
    Affected if App Search responds and is operational, indicating documents could be indexed through the Documents API
  3. Inspect application logs for document contents
    Examine the Enterprise Search logs (typically in /var/log/enterprise-search/ or the configured log directory) for POST requests to the Documents API endpoint /api/as/v1/engines/{engine}/documents. Search for logged JSON containing document field values.
    Affected if Log files contain raw document bodies with field names and values from indexed documents, especially in lines marked with [INFO] level
  4. Check log level configuration
    Review the Enterprise Search configuration file (enterprise-search.yml) for log level settings. Specifically look for 'log_level' settings and any document-related logging configuration.
    Affected if The log level is set to INFO (or DEBUG) and logging includes HTTP request/response bodies from the Documents API

You are affected if App Search is running on a version between 7.0.0-7.17.15 or 8.0.0-8.11.1 and your logs contain raw indexed document contents at INFO level.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 7.17.16 / 8.11.2 or later
Fixed in 7.17.168.11.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Elastic to version 8.11.2 or 7.17.16 where the document logging is changed to DEBUG level (disabled by default), or audit existing logs for sensitive data exposure.

Recommended fix High confidence

7.17.16 (for 7.x) or 8.11.2 (for 8.x)

  1. 1. Identify current Enterprise Search version by checking the deployment or running the version command
  2. 2. For version 7.x users: Plan upgrade to 7.17.16
  3. 3. For version 8.x users: Plan upgrade to 8.11.2
  4. 4. Before upgrading, create a full backup of Enterprise Search configuration and data
  5. 5. Perform the upgrade following Elastic's standard upgrade procedure
  6. 6. After upgrade, verify the fix by confirming that document contents are no longer logged at INFO level - they should only appear at DEBUG level which is disabled by default

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Enterprise Search Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

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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-2023-49923 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