Patchfirst
CVE-2015-1427 KEVPublic exploit Critical · 9.8 EPSS 99.9%

Elasticsearch Groovy Scripting Engine Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Elastic · Elasticsearch

Summary

The Groovy scripting engine in Elasticsearch, in versions before 1.3.8 and 1.4.x before 1.4.3, contains a flaw that allows the sandbox protection mechanism to be bypassed. A remote attacker with network access can exploit it without authentication or user interaction, using a crafted script to execute arbitrary shell commands.

Official description · NVD

The Groovy scripting engine in Elasticsearch before 1.3.8 and 1.4.x before 1.4.3 allows remote attackers to bypass the sandbox protection mechanism and execute arbitrary shell commands via a crafted script.

Breakdown
79.9 / 100
Exploited
Yes, in CISA KEV
Reports
0
Tactics
2/15

How an attack unfolds

Based on mappings. Select a step to see the evidence.
  1. How attackers get in

  2. What they do

First seen exploited 4 years after disclosure. Public exploit code (Metasploit) was available 6 days before disclosure.

  1. Public exploit codeMetasploit6 days before
  2. Disclosedday 0
  3. First seen exploitedVulnCheck KEV evidence+4 yrs
  4. Added to CISA KEVEU database agrees+7 yrs

CISA KEV listing is when exploitation was confirmed, not necessarily the first attack.

6 fixes in elasticsearch over 3 years. The latest fix listed for elasticsearch is 1.6.1.

Fixes in elasticsearchMaven package, by fixed version. Earlier and later fixes in the same package, not necessarily the same bug.

  1. 1.4.0.Beta1CVE-2014-312028 Jul 2014KEV
  2. 1.4.0.Beta1CVE-2014-643910 Oct 2014
  3. 1.4.3CVE-2015-142717 Feb 2015KEV
  4. 1.5.2CVE-2015-33371 May 2015
  5. 1.6.0CVE-2015-41659 Aug 2017
  6. 1.6.1CVE-2015-553117 Aug 2015Latest listed

techniques

2 , grouped by in kill-chain order, 2 cited passages 2

Initial AccessTA0001

Exploit Public-Facing Application T1190 Medium
AI mapping from the description · how it is exploited

remote unauthenticated exploit against exposed Elasticsearch service

allows remote attackers to bypass the sandbox protection mechanism
From the official description (NVD) Original (opens in a new tab) ↗

ExecutionTA0002

Command and Scripting Interpreter T1059 Medium
AI mapping from the description · primary impact

crafted script yields arbitrary shell command execution

execute arbitrary shell commands via a crafted script
From the official description (NVD) Original (opens in a new tab) ↗

Detection

0 rules for this CVE · 244 general rules for its techniques

Rules for this CVE

0 that reference CVE-2015-1427 directly.

CVE-specific rules are not available in this build. Search SigmaHQ ↗

Sigma rules © SigmaHQ, Detection Rule License 1.1; linked, not reproduced.

Am I affected? What do I upgrade to?

From GitHub Security Advisories and OSV

1 package in 1 ecosystem. Main package: org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch.

Mavenorg.elasticsearch:elasticsearchGHSA-w94p-6mhw-4qxw

Upgrade to 1.6.1 or later

Fixes this CVE and 1 other known vulnerability in this package (CVE-2015-5531).

Set the version to 1.6.1 or later in your pom.xml or build.gradle.

First fixed in 1.4.3 for CVE-2015-1427.

Affected versions, by release line

If you runUpgrade to
1.4.0 up to 1.4.31.6.1first fix for this CVE: 1.4.3
All versions before 1.3.8

Still affected on this line by CVE-2015-5531 (fixed in 1.6.1, a newer line).

1.4.0.Beta1first fix for this CVE: 1.3.8

“Up to” means the second version is the fix and is not affected.

Check your lockfile against all CVEs

What security researchers reported

Not named in any threat report yet

Also mentioned in 50 community threat pulses (AlienVault OTX)

Weaker evidence

Pulses are indicator collections that anyone can publish. A mention is not confirmation of exploitation.

References

9 links, grouped by NVD tag (8 duplicates merged)
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