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NVD / CVE Program· CNA mitre

CVE-2014-3120: The default configuration in Elasticsearch before 1.2 enables dynamic scripting, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary MVEL…

HighCVSS 8.1 · v3.1KEVWeaponized Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Now (action score 89/100)

  • CISA has confirmed exploitation in the wild (Mar 25, 2022). Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Apr 15, 2022.
  • A ready-made attack module is public (Metasploit, Nuclei); exploiting it takes no special expertise.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 88.5% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 99.7% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch (Maven) 1.4.0.Beta1.

Patch today or shut off access. Upgrade to org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch (Maven) 1.4.0.Beta1 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · CISA KEV · FIRST EPSS

The default configuration in Elasticsearch before 1.2 enables dynamic scripting, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary MVEL expressions and Java code via the source parameter to _search. NOTE: this only violates the vendor's intended security policy if the user does not run Elasticsearch in its own independent virtual machine.

Published
Jul 28, 2014
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
88.5% · 99th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

89

Now

Patch today or shut off access.

CVSS
32 / 40 · 8.1 / 10
CISA KEV
30 / 30 · Listed
EPSS
27 / 30 · 88.5%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
active
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

Actively exploited in the wild

CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Mar 25, 2022. That signals real attacks, not theory.

Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Apr 15, 2022.

Get told when this record changes

  • In CISA KEV: exploitation in the wild confirmed
  • Weaponized exploit exists
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2014-3120

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
elasticelasticsearch

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • elastic elasticsearchbefore 1.2.0

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Mavenorg.elasticsearch:elasticsearchbefore 1.4.0.Beta11.4.0.Beta1

Same product

elastic: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2015-1427The Groovy scripting engine in Elasticsearch before 1.3.8 and 1.4.x before 1.4.3 allows remote attackers to bypass the sandbox protection…KEV
    99Now
  • CVE-2021-22145A memory disclosure vulnerability was identified in Elasticsearch 7.10.0 to 7.13.3 error reporting.
    49Plan
  • CVE-2023-31419Elasticsearch StackOverflow vulnerability
    48Plan

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • Later →CVE-2015-5377Mar 6, 2018 · Elasticsearch before 1.6.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors involving the transport protocol.
    43Plan
  • Later →CVE-2018-3826Sep 19, 2018 · In Elasticsearch versions 6.0.0-beta1 to 6.2.4 a disclosure flaw was found in the _snapshot API.
    26Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2018-3831Sep 19, 2018 · Elasticsearch Alerting and Monitoring in versions before 6.4.1 or 5.6.12 have an information disclosure issue when secrets are configured…
    36Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Maven:org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch1.4.0.Beta1Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

Weaponized

A ready exploit tool or active in-the-wild use is known for this vulnerability. This should be your top priority.

Evidence

  • Metasploit module ×1
  • Exploit-DB entry ×2
  • Nuclei detection template ×2
  • Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×5

Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.

Public exploit evidence
SourceKindDate
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub5 repositories2014-05-13 → 2026-10-08
Exploit-DB entryremote2014-05-30
Exploit-DB entrywebapps2014-05-15
Metasploit moduleexploit/multi/elasticsearch/script_mvel_rceElasticSearch Dynamic Script Arbitrary Java Executionexploit2013-12-09
Nuclei detection templateNuclei template CVE-2013-5528 —
Nuclei detection templateNuclei template CVE-2014-3120 —

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

  1. Metasploit-232 d
  2. First PoC-77 d
  3. Published
  4. CISA KEV+2796 d
  5. TodayNov 14, 2026+4492 d

Bug bounty scope

The product’s vendor appears in a public program. Matched by name; verify the scope text in the program.

Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · patch commit or PR link · researcher credit · variant or chain candidate.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
none
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-284 · Improper Access Control

CVSS vector

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

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

References

Show all references (3 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records