Improper Access Control in Elasticsearch
A permission issue was found in Elasticsearch versions before 5.6.15 and 6.6.1 when Field Level Security and Document Level Security are disabled and the _aliases, _shrink, or _split endpoints are used . If the elasticsearch.yml file has xpack.security.dls_fls.enabled set to false, certain permission checks are skipped when users perform one of the actions mentioned above, to make existing data available under a new index/alias name. This could result in an attacker gaining additional permissions against a restricted index.
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch | < 5.6.15, >= 6.0.0, < 6.6.1 | 5.6.15, 6.6.1 |
References
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-284- Platform
- Java / Kotlin (Maven)
- Package
org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch- Disclosed
- 13.05.2022
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 11:21
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-fj32-6v7m-57pg - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Java / Kotlin (Maven)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 40
- First → latest
- 03.2021 05.2025
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 2
Severity breakdown
- High 8
- Medium 31
- Low 1
Disclosures per year
- 2021: 7
- 2022: 19
- 2023: 4
- 2024: 7
- 2025: 3
- 2026: 0
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Improper Access Control in Elasticsearch this entry
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