ElasticsearchDatabase / datastore · Elastic
CVE-2024-23444
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 · uneditedIt was discovered by Elastic engineering that when elasticsearch-certutil CLI tool is used with the csr option in order to create a new Certificate Signing Requests, the associated private key that is generated is stored on disk unencrypted even if the --pass parameter is passed in the command invocation.
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 confidenceThe elasticsearch-certutil CLI tool's csr option fails to encrypt generated private keys on disk, ignoring the --pass parameter intended for encryption. This exposes sensitive private keys in plaintext, creating a critical security gap for certificate signing requests.
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
>= 7.0.0, < 7.17.23>= 8.0.0, < 8.13.0CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/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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Check installed Elasticsearch versionRun `bin/elasticsearch --version` or check the version via package managerAffected if Version is >= 7.0.0 and < 7.17.23, OR >= 8.0.0 and < 8.13.0
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Identify certificate signing request files created by certutilSearch for .csr files in the system: `find / -name "*.csr" 2>/dev/null`Affected if Any .csr files exist, as they indicate certutil csr was used
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Locate private key files generated alongside CSRsSearch for private key files in common locations: `find / -name "*.key" -o -name "*.pem" 2>/dev/null | xargs ls -la`Affected if Private key files (.key or .pem) exist in the system and were generated using certutil csr with --pass
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Inspect private key file encryption statusOpen a sample key file and check the header: `head -n 5 /path/to/keyfile.key`Affected if File header shows '-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----' instead of '-----BEGIN ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY-----' (unencrypted)
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Review certutil command history or scriptsCheck shell history, automation scripts, or cron jobs for usage of `elasticsearch-certutil csr --pass`: `grep -r "certutil.*csr" /var/log /home /opt 2>/dev/null`Affected if Commands using elasticsearch-certutil csr with --pass parameter are found in logs or scripts
User is affected if Elasticsearch version is in the affected range AND any unencrypted private key files exist that were generated using certutil csr with the --pass parameter.
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 · scoped7.17.238.13.0
Audit systems where elasticsearch-certutil csr was used with --pass, regenerate all potentially compromised private keys with proper encryption, and implement file system access controls on any remaining unencrypted key files.
Elasticsearch 7.17.23 or 8.13.0 (select based on your current major version)
- Back up your Elasticsearch environment before starting the upgrade process
- For Elasticsearch 7.x users: Upgrade to version 7.17.23 or later
- For Elasticsearch 8.x users: Upgrade to version 8.13.0 or later
- After upgrading, regenerate any Certificate Signing Requests (CSRs) that were created using the vulnerable version of the certutil tool
- Verify that newly generated private keys are properly encrypted when using the --pass parameter
- Ensure proper file permissions are set on any remaining private key files from the vulnerable period
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
- 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 $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-23444 — 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-2024-23444 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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