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CVE-2017-8438· NVD / CVE Program· CNA elastic

Elastic X-Pack Security versions 5.0.0 to 5.4.0 contain a privilege escalation bug in the run_as functionality.

Elastic X-Pack Security versions 5.0.0 to 5.4.0 contain a privilege escalation bug in the run_as functionality. This bug prevents transitioning into the specified user specified in a run_as request. If a role has been created using a template that contains the _user properties, the behavior of run_as will be incorrect. Additionally if the run_as user specified does not exist, the transition will not happen.

HighCVSS 8.8 · v3.0—No exploit No fix recorded
Published
Jun 5, 2017
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
1.0% · 62th percentile
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Report tools

JSON

Action score

35

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
35 / 40 · 8.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 1.0%

Affected systems

VendorProduct
elasticx-pack

Affected versions

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

  • elastic x-pack5.0.0
  • elastic x-pack5.0.1
  • elastic x-pack5.0.2
  • elastic x-pack5.1.0
  • elastic x-pack5.1.1
  • elastic x-pack5.2.0
  • elastic x-pack5.2.1
  • elastic x-pack5.2.2
  • elastic x-pack5.3.0
  • elastic x-pack5.3.1
  • elastic x-pack5.3.2
  • elastic x-pack5.3.3
  • elastic x-pack5.4.0

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (elastic). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Elastic X-Pack Security

    • 5.0.0 to 5.4.0affected

Same product

elastic: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2018-3822X-Pack Security versions 6.2.0, 6.2.1, and 6.2.2 are vulnerable to a user impersonation attack via incorrect XML canonicalization and DOM tr
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2017-8448An error was found in the permission model used by X-Pack Alerting 5.0.0 to 5.6.0 whereby users mapped to certain built-in roles could creat
    35Monitor
  • CVE-2017-8450X-Pack 5.1.1 did not properly apply document and field level security to multi-search and multi-get requests so users without access to a do
    30Monitor
  • CVE-2017-8447An error was found in the X-Pack Security 5.3.0 to 5.5.2 privilege enforcement.
    26Monitor
  • CVE-2017-8442Elasticsearch X-Pack Security versions 5.0.0 to 5.4.3, when enabled, can result in the Elasticsearch _nodes API leaking sensitive configurat
    26Monitor
  • CVE-2017-8449X-Pack Security 5.2.x would allow access to more fields than the user should have seen if the field level security rules used a mix of grant
    23Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

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

No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

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.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

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

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
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-284 · Improper Access Control

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.

We use this product, ask for help

Change log

No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.

References

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

All records