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CVE-2026-103009

CVE-2026-103009 — Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key in Elasticsearch Leading to Information Disclosure

Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key (CWE-639) in Elasticsearch can lead to Information Disclosure via a specially crafted cross-cluster search request that references an unauthorized shard identifier. Elasticsearch contains an authorization bypass weakness in its handling of cross-cluster search requests made through the Remote Cluster Security (RCS) 2.0 model. An authorization check validates a request against one identifying attribute of the target shard, while a separate, independently-supplied identifying attribute in the same request determines which shard is actually accessed. A holder of a cross-cluster API key authorized for one index can craft a request whose two identifying attributes refer to different indices, causing the request to be authorized against an index they can access while actually operating against a different, unauthorized index. This can expose that index's document contents, field mappings, and other metadata, and in limited cases allows modification of retention-lease state on the unauthorized index.

Published Updated Sources: NVD, Elastic (CNA), GitHub, SOCRadar CTI

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the scoring sources call it.

Exploitation

Unreported

no source claims exploitation

EPSS

0%

ahead of 0% of scored CVEs

Affects

Elastic

3 products listed

CVSS base

7.1

high

CISA SSVC assessment

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses · SSVC 2.0.3. A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

CISA

Exploitation

None

none · proof-of-concept · active

Automatable

No

can an attacker script all four kill-chain steps

Technical impact

Partial

partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

The vendor's own words where we have them.

Upgrade Elasticsearch to a fixed release. Apply vendor patches per advisory and restrict external exposure of the affected component until patched.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record's own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found.

  • Identify exposed assets running affected vendor/product/version combinations.
  • Prioritize based on EPSS, PoC availability, and external exposure.
  • Search available logs for exploit probes, errors, authentication anomalies, or suspicious child processes matching the vulnerability class.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and version as the advisories word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatus
ElasticElasticsearch8.13.0 to <= 8.19.22Vulnerable
ElasticElasticsearch9.0.0 to <= 9.4.7Vulnerable
ElasticElasticsearch9.5.0 to <= 9.5.4Vulnerable

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Availability

None

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

Low

Scope

Unchanged

Attack Complexity

Low

Attack Vector

Network

Privileges Req

Low

User Interaction

None

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactSource
7.1CVSS 3.1high2.84.2elastic.co (CNA), Elastic (CNA)

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

What this weakness leads to

MITRE's own consequences and mitigations for the weakness class — the authority's wording, not guidance derived from the CVSS vector.

MITRE

CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key

  • Bypass Protection Mechanism
  • Gain Privileges or Assume Identity

Mitigation: For each and every data access, ensure that the user has sufficient privilege to access the record that is being requested.

Weakness & attack patterns

  • CWE-639

Inferred from the weakness class — not observed against this CVE.

CAPEC-1 · Accessing Functionality Not Properly Constrained by ACLsCAPEC-122 · Privilege Abuse

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not rules we have tested.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for network-reachable Elasticsearch.
web/proxy/WAF logsapplication logsnetwork IDS/IPS

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first — with the readings a source repeats on a schedule counted underneath rather than listed.

  1. 2026
  2. Added · CVSS 3.1 7.1 (AV:N)

    Oct 6, 2026 · NVD

  3. Initial · CVE published

    Oct 6, 2026 · NVD

  4. CVE published by MITRE.

    Oct 6, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI

References

1 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record1

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-103009 is Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key in Elasticsearch Leading to Information Disclosure, a high vulnerability affecting Elasticsearch from Elastic. The current evidence does not list it in CISA KEV, and the exploit status is: Active exploitation is not confirmed from current sources for CVE-2026-103009. Public exploit evidence is: A public PoC is not confirmed from current sources for CVE-2026-103009. The affected-version evidence is listed in the key facts and affected products tables. Defenders should first verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run those versions, then apply vendor patches or mitigations, restrict reachable attack surface, and preserve logs for detection review. CVSS 7.1 describes technical severity, while EPSS 0% helps estimate near-term exploit likelihood; neither replaces asset context. Unknown fields should remain explicit in tickets, and threat actor, IOC, victimology, or payload claims should not be added unless a cited source supports them. Monitor CISA KEV, vendor advisories, NVD changes, public PoC repositories, and internal telemetry for update triggers.