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ElasticsearchDatabase / datastore · Elastic

CVE-2024-23451

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-03-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.13.0 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
Incorrect Authorization issue exists in the API key based security model for Remote Cluster Security, which is currently in Beta, in Elasticsearch 8.10.0 and before 8.13.0. This allows a malicious user with a valid API key for a remote cluster configured to use the new Remote Cluster Security to read arbitrary documents from any index on the remote cluster, and only if they use the Elasticsearch custom transport protocol to issue requests with the target index ID, the shard ID and the document ID. None of Elasticsearch REST API endpoints are affected by this issue.

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

A flawed authorization check in the Remote Cluster Security beta feature allows an authenticated API key user to bypass index-level access controls on remote clusters. By using the Elasticsearch custom transport protocol with a target index ID, shard ID, and document ID, an attacker can read documents from ANY index on the remote cluster, not just indices authorized for their API key.

MitigationUpgrade Elasticsearch to version 8.13.0 or later. Alternatively, if immediate upgrading is not feasible, consider disabling the Remote Cluster Security beta feature until the upgrade can be performed.

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:>= 8.10.0, < 8.13.0

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. Check Elasticsearch version
    Run `curl -s -k https://localhost:9200` and inspect the 'version.number' field in the response, or use the /_version API
    Affected if The version is >= 8.10.0 and < 8.13.0
  2. Verify Remote Cluster Security beta status
    Check the Elasticsearch configuration file (elasticsearch.yml) or API settings for remote cluster configurations. Query the cluster settings API: GET /_cluster/settings?include_defaults=true and look for 'remote.cluster' or 'ccr' related settings
    Affected if Remote cluster connections are configured and the Remote Cluster Security beta feature is in use
  3. Confirm API key usage for cross-cluster access
    Review the security API keys defined in the cluster using GET /_security/api_key and check which keys have cross-cluster privileges or remote index permissions
    Affected if API keys with cross-cluster or remote index read permissions exist in the environment
  4. Check for cross-cluster search or replication configs
    Query GET /_remote/info to list configured remote clusters, or check cluster state for remote index allocations
    Affected if One or more remote clusters are configured and connected

If the installed Elasticsearch version is 8.10.0 through 8.12.x AND Remote Cluster Security beta with cross-cluster connections is enabled, the environment is affected by this authorization bypass.

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 8.13.0 or later
Fixed in 8.13.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Elasticsearch to version 8.13.0 or later. Alternatively, if immediate upgrading is not feasible, consider disabling the Remote Cluster Security beta feature until the upgrade can be performed.

Recommended fix High confidence

8.13.0 or later

  1. Upgrade Elasticsearch to version 8.13.0 or later
  2. After upgrading, verify that the Remote Cluster Security feature is functioning correctly
  3. Test that API key based security for remote clusters is working as expected after the upgrade
Caveat Review Elasticsearch 8.13.0 release notes for any breaking changes before upgrading

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

Fix this in Elasticsearch Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2024-23451 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