CVE-2026-72684: CWE-770 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in Elastic Elasticsearch
A flaw in Elasticsearch allows an authenticated user holding only read privileges to submit a small search request containing a crafted user-supplied input. Processing that input causes a specific internal component to allocate memory without any upper bound, and the allocation occurs outside the scope of the existing memory accounting controls that were intended to constrain it. The resulting out-of-memory condition is fatal and terminates the affected node process, causing a denial of service.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
This vulnerability in Elasticsearch involves a flaw where a read-privileged authenticated user can submit a specially crafted search request containing user-supplied input. The processing of this input causes an internal component to allocate memory without any upper bound, outside the scope of existing memory accounting controls. The uncontrolled memory allocation results in an out-of-memory condition that terminates the affected node process, causing a denial of service. No information about a patch or remediation is currently available, and no known exploits are reported in the wild.
Potential Impact
The impact is a denial of service (DoS) condition caused by a fatal out-of-memory crash of the Elasticsearch node process. There is no confidentiality or integrity impact reported. The vulnerability requires authenticated user access with read privileges and does not require user interaction. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.5 (medium severity), reflecting the network attack vector, low attack complexity, and no impact on confidentiality or integrity but high impact on availability.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Since no official fix or temporary workaround is indicated, monitoring vendor communications for updates is recommended. Restricting authenticated user access to trusted users may reduce risk until a fix is available.
CVE-2026-72684: CWE-770 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in Elastic Elasticsearch
Description
A flaw in Elasticsearch allows an authenticated user holding only read privileges to submit a small search request containing a crafted user-supplied input. Processing that input causes a specific internal component to allocate memory without any upper bound, and the allocation occurs outside the scope of the existing memory accounting controls that were intended to constrain it. The resulting out-of-memory condition is fatal and terminates the affected node process, causing a denial of service.
CVSS v3.1
Score 6.5medium
Affected software
pkg:maven/org.elasticsearch/elasticsearchRun on your own infrastructure? Check whether these packages are installed with threat-finder — our free open-source scanner.
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability in Elasticsearch involves a flaw where a read-privileged authenticated user can submit a specially crafted search request containing user-supplied input. The processing of this input causes an internal component to allocate memory without any upper bound, outside the scope of existing memory accounting controls. The uncontrolled memory allocation results in an out-of-memory condition that terminates the affected node process, causing a denial of service. No information about a patch or remediation is currently available, and no known exploits are reported in the wild.
Potential Impact
The impact is a denial of service (DoS) condition caused by a fatal out-of-memory crash of the Elasticsearch node process. There is no confidentiality or integrity impact reported. The vulnerability requires authenticated user access with read privileges and does not require user interaction. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.5 (medium severity), reflecting the network attack vector, low attack complexity, and no impact on confidentiality or integrity but high impact on availability.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Since no official fix or temporary workaround is indicated, monitoring vendor communications for updates is recommended. Restricting authenticated user access to trusted users may reduce risk until a fix is available.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- elastic
- Date Reserved
- 2026-08-10T11:17:58.731Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 6a7e1a85bf8831d539b18422
Added to database: 08/13/2026, 19:27:01 UTC
Last enriched: 08/13/2026, 19:42:59 UTC
Last updated: 08/13/2026, 20:57:21 UTC
Views: 4
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