Improper access control in Elastic X-Pack Security
Priority MEDIUM 40CWE-284Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Security bypass, Privilege escalation
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.0 · NVD. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-284 and CWE-269.
Summary
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.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.01025 63rd percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix No fix listed No fixed version in the sources yet
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elastic | X-Pack Security | 5.0.0 to 5.4.0 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- X-Pack Security VendorElastic Affected 5.0.0 to 5.4.0 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 13
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.0.0 | Vulnerable | Elastic |
| cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.0.1 | Vulnerable | Elastic |
| cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.0.2 | Vulnerable | Elastic |
| cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.1.0 | Vulnerable | Elastic |
| cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.1.1 | Vulnerable | Elastic |
| cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.2.0 | Vulnerable | Elastic |
| cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.2.1 | Vulnerable | Elastic |
| cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.2.2 | Vulnerable | Elastic |
| cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.3.0 | Vulnerable | Elastic |
| cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.3.1 | Vulnerable | Elastic |
- cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.0.0 Vulnerable ·Elastic
- cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.0.1 Vulnerable ·Elastic
- cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.0.2 Vulnerable ·Elastic
- cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.1.0 Vulnerable ·Elastic
- cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.1.1 Vulnerable ·Elastic
- cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.2.0 Vulnerable ·Elastic
- cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.2.1 Vulnerable ·Elastic
- cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.2.2 Vulnerable ·Elastic
- cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.3.0 Vulnerable ·Elastic
- cpe:2.3:a:elastic:x-pack:5.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.3.1 Vulnerable ·Elastic
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2017-8438
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-c4fv-4x26-f38h
References
More Elastic X-pack vulnerabilities
- TI-2018-02792 Improper authentication in Elastic X-Pack Security CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2017-05988 Improper access control in Elastic X-Pack Alerting CVSS 3.0HIGH 8.8
- TI-2017-05990 Incorrect permission assignment in Elastic X-Pack Security CVSS 3.0HIGH 7.5
- TI-2017-05982 Information disclosure in Elasticsearch X-Pack Security CVSS 3.0MEDIUM 6.5
- TI-2017-05987 Improper access control in Elastic X-Pack Security CVSS 3.0MEDIUM 6.5
- TI-2017-05989 Incorrect permission assignment in Elastic X-Pack Security CVSS 3.0MEDIUM 5.9
Sources
- CVE-2017-8438 · CVE Program
- CVE-2017-8438 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-c4fv-4x26-f38h · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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