Improper privilege management in Elasticsearch
Priority MEDIUM 42CWE-266Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Privilege escalation
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-266.
Summary
The fix for CVE-2020-7009 was found to be incomplete. Elasticsearch versions from 6.7.0 to 6.8.7 and 7.0.0 to 7.6.1 contain a privilege escalation flaw if an attacker is able to create API keys and also authentication tokens. An attacker who is able to generate an API key and an authentication token can perform a series of steps that result in an authentication token being generated with elevated privileges.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.01743 77th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Fixed org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch (Maven): 6.8.8, 7.6.2
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 | Elasticsearch | 6.7.0 to 6.8.7 and 7.0.0 to 7.6.1 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| — | org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch (Maven) | 6.7.0 to before 6.8.8 | 6.8.8 | Patch available | GHSA-hqqv-9x3v-mp7w |
| — | org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch (Maven) | 7.0.0 to before 7.6.2 | 7.6.2 | Patch available | GHSA-hqqv-9x3v-mp7w |
- Elasticsearch VendorElastic Affected 6.7.0 to 6.8.7 and 7.0.0 to 7.6.1 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch (Maven) Vendor— Affected 6.7.0 to before 6.8.8 Fixed in 6.8.8 Patch available GHSA-hqqv-9x3v-mp7w
- org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch (Maven) Vendor— Affected 7.0.0 to before 7.6.2 Fixed in 7.6.2 Patch available GHSA-hqqv-9x3v-mp7w
Remediation
- Fix · GHSA-hqqv-9x3v-mp7w org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch (Maven) Fixed in 6.8.8 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-hqqv-9x3v-mp7w org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch (Maven) Fixed in 7.6.2 Advisory →
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Important. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 6 products
- Red Hat Decision Manager 7
- Red Hat Fuse 7
- Red Hat JBoss Fuse 6
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.11
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
- Red Hat Process Automation 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2020-7014
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-hqqv-9x3v-mp7w
References
More Elasticsearch vulnerabilities
- TI-2015-01295 The Groovy scripting engine in Elasticsearch before 1.3.8 and 1.4.x before 1.4.3 allows… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2014-02491 The default configuration in Elasticsearch before 1.2 enables dynamic scripting, which… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.1
- TI-2023-15037 Elasticsearch StackOverflow vulnerability CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2021-05135 Information disclosure in Elasticsearch CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.5
- TI-2021-05136 All versions of Elastic Cloud Enterprise has the Elasticsearch “anonymous” user enabled… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2015-04530 Elasticsearch before 1.6.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via… CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
Sources
- CVE-2020-7014 · CVE Program
- CVE-2020-7014 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-hqqv-9x3v-mp7w · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2020-7014 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences