dbcve.org
ElasticsearchDatabase / datastore · Elastic

CVE-2024-23449

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-03-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.11.1 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
An uncaught exception in Elasticsearch >= 8.4.0 and < 8.11.1 occurs when an encrypted PDF is passed to an attachment processor through the REST API. The Elasticsearch ingest node that attempts to parse the PDF file will crash. This does not happen with password-protected PDF files or with unencrypted PDF files.

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

In Elasticsearch versions 8.4.0 through 8.11.0, the ingest attachment processor does not properly handle encrypted (but not password-protected) PDF files submitted via the REST API, causing an uncaught exception that crashes the ingest node.

MitigationUpgrade Elasticsearch to version 8.11.1 or later, which contains the fix for this uncaught exception in the attachment processor.

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:>= 8.4.0, < 8.11.1

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

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 `GET /` on the Elasticsearch cluster or check the version file in the Elasticsearch installation directory. The version will be returned in the response under the 'number' field.
    Affected if The version is 8.4.0, 8.4.1, 8.4.2, 8.4.3, 8.5.0 through 8.11.0 (any version >= 8.4.0 and < 8.11.1)
  2. Verify ingest attachment processor plugin is installed
    Run `GET /_cat/plugins?v` to list installed plugins. Look for 'ingest-attachment' in the list.
    Affected if The ingest-attachment plugin is installed and the version falls in the affected range above
  3. Identify ingest pipelines using the attachment processor
    Run `GET /_ingest/pipeline/_all?pretty` to retrieve all pipeline definitions. Search for 'attachment' processor type in the response.
    Affected if Any pipeline contains an 'attachment' processor and the Elasticsearch version is in the affected range
  4. Check for PDF ingestion via REST API
    Review API access logs or audit logs for POST/PUT requests to Elasticsearch endpoints that index PDF content, particularly to indices referenced by pipelines using the attachment processor.
    Affected if PDF files are being submitted to Elasticsearch via REST API to be processed by pipelines containing the attachment processor

You are affected if your Elasticsearch version is 8.4.0 through 8.11.0, the ingest-attachment plugin is installed, and encrypted (non-password-protected) PDF files are being submitted via the REST API to pipelines using the attachment processor.

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 8.11.1 or later
Fixed in 8.11.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Elasticsearch to version 8.11.1 or later, which contains the fix for this uncaught exception in the attachment processor.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

8.11.1

  1. Backup your Elasticsearch data and configuration before proceeding with any upgrade
  2. Review the Elasticsearch 8.11.1 release notes for any breaking changes or migration considerations
  3. Test the upgrade in a non-production/staging environment first
  4. Stop any ingest pipelines that use the attachment processor to avoid crashes during upgrade
  5. Upgrade Elasticsearch to version 8.11.1 or later following the standard upgrade procedure
  6. Verify the attachment processor can handle encrypted PDFs without crashing after the upgrade
Caveat Review 8.11.1 release notes for cluster-specific breaking changes; minor version upgrades typically have low risk

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
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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-2024-23449 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