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ElasticsearchDatabase / datastore · Elastic

CVE-2026-56148

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-07-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.19.17 / 9.3.6 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click 7 weeks old

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
Uncontrolled Recursion (CWE-674) in Elasticsearch can lead to a denial of service via Excessive Allocation (CAPEC-130). An authenticated user can submit a specially crafted query that causes excessive resource consumption while the request is processed, which may render the affected node unavailable.

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 an uncontrolled recursion vulnerability (CWE-674) where an authenticated user can submit a specially crafted query that triggers excessive recursive processing, leading to excessive resource allocation (CAPEC-130) and denial of service. The vulnerability allows a malicious authenticated user to render affected nodes unavailable by causing uncontrolled recursion during query parsing or execution.

MitigationImplement query complexity limits and recursion depth controls in Elasticsearch, potentially through query validation middleware or Elasticsearch's built-in settings (e.g., max_clause_count, script limits). Consider rate limiting for authenticated users and deploying the fix in an emergency release if exploitation is observed.

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:>= 8.0.0, < 8.19.17>= 9.0.0, < 9.3.6>= 9.4.0, < 9.4.3

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Identify installed Elasticsearch version
    Run curl -s localhost:9200 or GET / to retrieve the version number from the cluster
    Affected if The reported version falls within 8.0.0 to 8.19.16, 9.0.0 to 9.3.5, or 9.4.0 to 9.4.2
  2. Confirm authenticated user query access
    Verify that the Elasticsearch instance accepts queries from authenticated users via REST API, Kibana, or client applications
    Affected if Authenticated users can submit search or query requests to the cluster
  3. Check if the _search API is exposed
    Review network exposure and authentication configuration to determine if the /_search endpoint is reachable by non-admin users
    Affected if The _search endpoint is accessible to authenticated users on the network
  4. Review query complexity limits
    Inspect Elasticsearch configuration (elasticsearch.yml) for settings such as script.max_complexity, script.max_depth, or indices.query.bool.max_clause_count
    Affected if No query complexity limits are configured or limits are set to excessively high values
  5. Identify query execution paths
    Audit user roles and privileges in Elasticsearch/security settings to determine which authenticated users can execute complex queries
    Affected if Users with search privileges can submit arbitrary query DSL structures

You are affected if your Elasticsearch version is within the vulnerable ranges AND authenticated users can submit custom queries to the cluster.

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 8.19.17 / 9.3.6 / 9.4.3 or later
Fixed in 8.19.179.3.69.4.3
Interim mitigation

Implement query complexity limits and recursion depth controls in Elasticsearch, potentially through query validation middleware or Elasticsearch's built-in settings (e.g., max_clause_count, script limits). Consider rate limiting for authenticated users and deploying the fix in an emergency release if exploitation is observed.

Recommended fix High confidence

Elasticsearch 8.19.17 (for 8.x) / 9.3.6 (for 9.0-9.3.x) / 9.4.3 (for 9.4.x)

  1. 1. Identify the current Elasticsearch version by running: curl -X GET 'localhost:9200'
  2. 2. If running 8.x (>=8.0.0, <8.19.17), plan upgrade to 8.19.17 or later
  3. 3. If running 9.0.x-9.3.x (>=9.0.0, <9.3.6), plan upgrade to 9.3.6
  4. 4. If running 9.4.x-9.4.2 (>=9.4.0, <9.4.3), plan upgrade to 9.4.3
  5. 5. Take a full snapshot of the cluster before upgrading
  6. 6. Upgrade the affected node(s) following Elasticsearch rolling upgrade procedure
  7. 7. Verify the cluster is healthy post-upgrade: GET _cluster/health
  8. 8. Test that the vulnerable query functionality now handles resources appropriately
Caveat Minor version upgrades typically have low risk but always review breaking changes in Elastic Stack release notes before upgrading

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

Fix this in Elasticsearch Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,980
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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-2026-56148 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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