dbcve.org
ElasticsearchDatabase / datastore · Elastic

CVE-2024-43709

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.17.21 / 8.13.3 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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 allocation of resources without limits or throttling in Elasticsearch can lead to an OutOfMemoryError exception resulting in a crash via a specially crafted query using an SQL function.

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 · moderate confidence

Elasticsearch contains a resource allocation vulnerability where specially crafted queries using SQL functions can trigger unlimited memory allocation, causing an OutOfMemoryError that crashes the service. The issue stems from insufficient limits or throttling on SQL function query execution.

MitigationImplement query resource limits and throttling for SQL function queries in Elasticsearch, or apply available security patches from Elastic.

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:>= 7.17.0, < 7.17.21>= 8.0.0, < 8.13.3

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
High

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

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 installed Elasticsearch version
    Run `GET /_nodes/version` via the Elasticsearch REST API, or run `bin/elasticsearch --version` from the Elasticsearch installation directory
    Affected if The version is >= 7.17.0 and < 7.17.21, or >= 8.0.0 and < 8.13.3
  2. Verify SQL plugin is enabled
    Run `GET /_nodes/plugins` and look for sql-related plugins, or check elasticsearch.yml for `sql.enabled: true` (default is enabled)
    Affected if SQL plugin is present and enabled (SQL is enabled by default in affected versions)
  3. Check for SQL query execution
    Review Elasticsearch logs for recent SQL query patterns using `grep -i sql /var/log/elasticsearch/*.log` or check access logs for `/_sql` endpoints
    Affected if SQL queries against the cluster have been executed recently
  4. Inspect SQL resource limit configuration
    Check elasticsearch.yml for settings like `sql.resource.limit.enabled`, `sql.resource.limit.max_bytes`, or `sql.resource.limit.max_time`
    Affected if No resource limits are configured for SQL queries (default configuration has no throttling)
  5. Review for OutOfMemoryError events
    Search Elasticsearch logs for OutOfMemoryError: `grep -i 'OutOfMemoryError' /var/log/elasticsearch/*.log`
    Affected if OutOfMemoryError exceptions related to SQL queries have occurred

The environment is affected if Elasticsearch version is 7.17.0-7.17.20 or 8.0.0-8.13.2, SQL features are enabled, and no query resource limits are configured.

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 7.17.21 / 8.13.3 or later
Fixed in 7.17.218.13.3
Interim mitigation

Implement query resource limits and throttling for SQL function queries in Elasticsearch, or apply available security patches from Elastic.

Recommended fix High confidence

Elasticsearch 7.17.21 (for 7.x versions) or 8.13.3 (for 8.x versions)

  1. Backup your Elasticsearch data and configuration files before proceeding with any upgrade.
  2. Review the Elasticsearch upgrade documentation at elastic.co/guide for your current version.
  3. For 7.x users: Plan to upgrade to 7.17.21 or later. For 8.x users: Plan to upgrade to 8.13.3 or later.
  4. Test the upgrade in a staging environment first to verify application compatibility.
  5. Stop the Elasticsearch service on all nodes in your cluster.
  6. Upgrade Elasticsearch packages using your package manager (e.g., apt-get, yum, or dpkg) or by reinstalling from the Elastic repository.
  7. Update the Elasticsearch configuration files if required by the new version.
  8. Start the Elasticsearch service on all nodes.
Caveat Elasticsearch minor version upgrades typically have minimal breaking changes; review the release notes for your target version for any deprecations or behavior changes

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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

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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-2024-43709 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