CVE-2015-4165: Elasticsearch Improper Access Control Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-fh5x-4j57-6q5x
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-284
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2015-4165 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) improper access control vulnerability (CWE-284: Improper Access Control) affecting Elasticsearch libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves improper access control in elasticsearch. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.6.0.

CVE-2015-4165 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2015-4165
GHSA Identifier GHSA-fh5x-4j57-6q5x
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-284: Improper Access Control
Affected Product Elasticsearch
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2015-4165

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Elasticsearch dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch fixed: 1.6.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.elasticsearch</groupId>
    <artifactId>elasticsearch</artifactId>
    <version>1.6.0</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.elasticsearch

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2015-4165, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.elasticsearch

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Elasticsearch in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.6.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.elasticsearch command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-284: Improper Access Control, where the product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor. In Elasticsearch, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

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.

CVE-2015-4165 Affected Elasticsearch Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.6.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch
maven/org.elasticsearch/elasticsearch
Maven
< 1.6.0
1.6.0

References

NVD — CVE-2015-4165 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-4165
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1230761
Elasticsearch Security Information SECURITY
https://www.elastic.co/community/security
Elasticsearch Security Information SECURITY
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/132234/Elasticsearch-1.5.2-File-Creation.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2015-4165?
CVE-2015-4165 is a security vulnerability in Elasticsearch involving Improper Access Control in Elasticsearch under CWE-284: Improper Access Control.
Which Elasticsearch versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.6.0 across affected packages: org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch.
What version fixes CVE-2015-4165?
Upgrading to 1.6.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is elasticsearch affected?
Yes, org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch is affected in releases prior to 1.6.0. Upgrade your dependency to 1.6.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2015-4165?
CVE-2015-4165 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2015-4165?
CVE-2015-4165 is classified under CWE-284: Improper Access Control (The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2015-4165?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.elasticsearch'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-fh5x-4j57-6q5x",
  "modified" : "2022-07-06T20:16:06Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-14T02:48:29Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2015-4165" ],
  "summary" : "Improper Access Control in Elasticsearch",
  "details" : "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" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.6.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-4165"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1230761"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.elastic.co/community/security"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/132234/Elasticsearch-1.5.2-File-Creation.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-284" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-07-06T20:16:06Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2017-08-09T16:29:00Z"
  }
}