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NVD / CVE Program· CNA elastic

CVE-2024-12539: Elasticsearch Incorrect Authorization

MediumCVSS 6.0 · v4.0—No exploit Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 24/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.46% (FIRST EPSS).
  • 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) 8.16.2.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch (Maven) 8.16.2 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 · FIRST EPSS

An issue was discovered where improper authorization controls affected certain queries that could allow a malicious actor to circumvent Document Level Security in Elasticsearch and get access to documents that their roles would normally not allow.

Published
Dec 17, 2024
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
0.4% · 40th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

24

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
24 / 40 · 6.0 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.4%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · elastic
6.0
NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

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

Follow CVE-2024-12539

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

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 Elasticsearch

    • 8.16.0 and later · up to and including 8.16.1affected · semver

Affected versions

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

  • elastic elasticsearch8.16.0 and later · before 8.16.2

Package-level exposure

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

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Mavenorg.elasticsearch:elasticsearchfrom 8.16.0 · before 8.16.28.16.2

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-2014-3120The default configuration in Elasticsearch before 1.2 enables dynamic scripting, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary MVEL…KEV
    89Now
  • CVE-2021-22145A memory disclosure vulnerability was identified in Elasticsearch 7.10.0 to 7.13.3 error reporting.
    49Plan

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-49921Jul 26, 2024 · An issue was discovered by Elastic whereby Watcher search input logged the search query results on DEBUG log level.
    26Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2024-23444Jul 31, 2024 · Elasticsearch elasticsearch-certutil csr fails to encrypt private key
    30Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2024-43709Jan 21, 2025 · Elasticsearch allocation of resources without limits or throttling leads to crash
    30Monitor

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:elasticsearch8.16.2Package registry (OSV)

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.

Variant candidates

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

  • CVE-2024-23451265 days apartElasticsearch Incorrect Authorization in the Remote Cluster Security API key based security model
    26Monitor

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.

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
Integrity
Availability
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
X

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-863 · Incorrect Authorization

CVSS vector

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

nvd-secondary

Attack context

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

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

References

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

All records