Elastic Cloud EnterpriseApplication · Elastic
CVE-2025-37736
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 · uneditedImproper Authorization in Elastic Cloud Enterprise can lead to Privilege Escalation where the built-in readonly user can call APIs that should not be allowed. The list of APIs that are affected by this issue is: post:/platform/configuration/security/service-accounts delete:/platform/configuration/security/service-accounts/{user_id} patch:/platform/configuration/security/service-accounts/{user_id} post:/platform/configuration/security/service-accounts/{user_id}/keys delete:/platform/configuration/security/service-accounts/{user_id}/keys/{api_key_id} patch:/user post:/users post:/users/auth/keys delete:/users/auth/keys delete:/users/auth/keys/_all delete:/users/auth/keys/{api_key_id} delete:/users/{user_id}/auth/keys delete:/users/{user_id}/auth/keys/{api_key_id} delete:/users/{user_name} patch:/users/{user_name}
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 confidenceElastic Cloud Enterprise has an improper authorization vulnerability where the built-in 'readonly' user role incorrectly has permissions to execute sensitive administration APIs. This includes service account management (create/delete/patch), user management, and API key operations. An attacker with readonly access can exploit this to escalate privileges to admin-level operations.
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
Elastic Cloud EnterpriseApplication
>= 3.8.0, < 3.8.3>= 4.0.0, < 4.0.3CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Elastic Cloud Enterprise installed versionRun the command 'ece version' or access the Elastic Cloud Enterprise admin console to view the running version. Compare against affected ranges: 3.8.0 to 3.8.2, or 4.0.0 to 4.0.2.Affected if The installed version falls within >= 3.8.0, < 3.8.3 or >= 4.0.0, < 4.0.3
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Verify readonly role permissionsUsing the Elasticsearch API, query the readonly role definition: GET /_security/role/readonly. Inspect the granted permissions for any of the following privileges: manage_service_accounts, manage_user, manage_api_key, or security privileges beyond read-only access.Affected if The readonly role contains manage_service_accounts, manage_user, manage_api_key, or similar administrative privileges
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Test service account API accessibilityAs a user with readonly role only, attempt to call the service account management API: GET /_security/service_account. A readonly user should receive a 403 Forbidden, but under this vulnerability may receive a 200 OK with service account data.Affected if A user assigned only the readonly role can successfully retrieve service account information (200 OK response)
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Test user management API accessibilityAs a readonly user, attempt to call user management endpoints such as GET /_security/user or POST /_security/user. Verify if the API returns user data or accepts user creation requests.Affected if A readonly user can list users or create/modify users (response is not 403 Forbidden)
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Review audit logs for readonly privilege escalationSearch Elasticsearch security audit logs for events where the actor role is 'readonly' and the action involves service_account, user management, or api_key operations. Look for events with action: 'security_url_response' or similar.Affected if Audit logs show readonly role users executing service account, user management, or API key operations
You are affected if your Elastic Cloud Enterprise version is within 3.8.0 to 3.8.2 or 4.0.0 to 4.0.2 AND the readonly role grants administrative privileges OR readonly users can access sensitive management APIs.
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 · scoped3.8.34.0.3
Apply the vendor-provided patch for Elastic Cloud Enterprise and review all role-based access control (RBAC) configurations to ensure readonly roles cannot access administrative APIs.
Elastic Cloud Enterprise 3.8.3 or 4.0.3 (depending on your current major version branch)
- 1. Determine your current Elastic Cloud Enterprise version by checking the deployment console or using the ECE APIs
- 2. If running 3.8.0-3.8.2: plan upgrade to version 3.8.3 or later
- 3. If running 4.0.0-4.0.2: plan upgrade to version 4.0.3 or later
- 4. Review the Elastic Cloud Enterprise 3.8.3 and 4.0.3 release notes for any breaking changes or migration requirements
- 5. Create a backup of your ECE configuration and ensure you have a rollback plan
- 6. Schedule a maintenance window as the upgrade may require downtime
- 7. Execute the upgrade following Elastic's official upgrade documentation for your deployment type
- 8. After upgrade completes, verify the readonly user can no longer access the affected APIs (service-accounts and user management endpoints)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Elastic Cloud Enterprise
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation3.0 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 $3,680.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-37736 — 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-2025-37736 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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