CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2015-4165 — Elasticsearch Elasticsearch security vulnerability

High CVSS 7.5

The snapshot API in Elasticsearch before 1.6.0 when another application exists on the system that can read Lucene files and execute code from them, is accessible by the attacker, and the Java VM on which Elasticsearch is running can write to a location that the other application can read and execute from, allows remote authenticated users to write to and create arbitrary snapshot metadata files, and potentially execute arbitrary code.

Severity
High
CVSS
7.5 (3.0)
Published
2017-08-09
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
java/maven
Weaknesses
CWE-264

Affected products

  • elasticsearch / elasticsearch / 1.5.2

Matched remediation archetype

Command, code, expression, and template injection

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Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted values to process execution, interpreters, evaluators, template engines, dynamic imports, and administrative scripting features.
  • Determine whether the affected path is reachable across each trust boundary and which service account or host privilege it inherits.
  • Review configuration for optional execution features, unsafe compatibility modes, and shell invocation.

Remediate safely

  • Replace string-built commands or evaluated code with fixed operations and structured argument APIs that do not invoke a shell.
  • Use strict allowlists for operation identifiers and reject unexpected input before it reaches any interpreter.
  • Update the affected component and add inert regression tests covering metacharacters, encoding variants, and alternate request paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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