CVE-2024-23451 | Elasticsearch Incorrect Authorization in the Remote Cluster Security API key based security model

Incorrect Authorization issue exists in the API key based security model for Remote Cluster Security, which is currently in Beta, in Elasticsearch 8.10.0 and before 8.13.0. This allows a malicious user with a valid API key for a remote cluster configured to use the new Remote Cluster Security to read arbitrary documents from any index on the remote cluster, and only if they use the Elasticsearch custom transport protocol to issue requests with the target index ID, the shard ID and the document ID. None of Elasticsearch REST API endpoints are affected by this issue.

Published: 2024-03-27 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2024-23451 is rated Low Risk (29.7/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.43%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2024-23451

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-23 0.49% 0.43% -0.06%
2 2026-06-15 0.34% 0.49% +0.15%
3 2026-04-10 — 0.34% —

Full EPSS history (14 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2024-23451

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.4 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 0.7 3.6 [email protected]
6.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 2.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2024-23451

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2024-23451

GHSA-r3hx-qfh5-r9m7 · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: maven — Elasticsearch Incorrect Authorization vulnerability

OS Trackers for CVE-2024-23451

vendor priority summary link
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-23451
ubuntu medium CVE-2024-23451 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (elasticsearch), 8 status rows across 8 suites (focal, jammy, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, upstream, xenial): DNE 6, needs-triage 2. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2024-23451

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2024-23451

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
elastic elasticsearch >= 8.10.0, < 8.13.0 cpe:2.3:a:elastic:elasticsearch:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2024-23451

cvelogic Threat Intelligence