Elasticsearch stores private key on disk unencrypted
It was discovered by Elastic engineering that when elasticsearch-certutil CLI tool is used with the csr option in order to create a new Certificate Signing Requests, the associated private key that is generated is stored on disk unencrypted even if the --pass parameter is passed in the command invocation.
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch | >= 8.0.0-alpha1, < 8.13.0, < 7.17.23 | 8.13.0, 7.17.23 |
References
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-23444
- https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/106105
- https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/109834
- https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/commit/07296d596a1dee24730e33ad40b6726f70c6fc23
- https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/commit/321c4e1e6b738bf80faa41dbb9881489a4ab44e5
- https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/commit/bb1eddada3678257838b0590090ff9eb68acaa1b
- https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-8-13-0-7-17-23-security-update-esa-2024-12/364157
- https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20250404-0001
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-311- Platform
- Java / Kotlin (Maven)
- Package
org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch- Disclosed
- 31.07.2024
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 13:20
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-5v8f-xx9m-wj44 - 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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Elasticsearch stores private key on disk unencrypted this entry
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