Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value in Elasticsearch Leading to Denial of Service
Priority LOW 29CWE-789Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-789.
Summary
Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value (CWE-789) in Elasticsearch can lead to denial of service via Excessive Allocation (CAPEC-130). An authenticated user holding only read privileges on a single index can submit one small, specially crafted search request that causes an excessively large memory allocation, exhausting the JVM heap and terminating the affected node.
Why it matters now
Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.0042 36th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix No fix listed No fixed version in the sources yet
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elastic | Elasticsearch | 8.0.0 – 8.19.19; 9.0.0 – 9.4.4; 9.5.0 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- Elasticsearch VendorElastic Affected 8.0.0 – 8.19.19; 9.0.0 – 9.4.4; 9.5.0 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:elastic:elasticsearch:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 8.0.0 to before 8.19.20; 9.0.0 to before 9.4.5; 9.5.0 to before 9.5.1 | Vulnerable | Elastic |
- cpe:2.3:a:elastic:elasticsearch:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.0.0 to before 8.19.20; 9.0.0 to before 9.4.5; 9.5.0 to before 9.5.1 Vulnerable ·Elastic
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-72645
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-vgfg-5pqm-8394
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-2026-72645 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-72645 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-vgfg-5pqm-8394 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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