CVE-2022-23715 in Cloud Enterprise
Summary
by MITRE • 08/25/2022
A flaw was discovered in ECE before 3.4.0 that might lead to the disclosure of sensitive information such as user passwords and Elasticsearch keystore settings values in logs such as the audit log or deployment logs in the Logging and Monitoring cluster. The affected APIs are PATCH /api/v1/user and PATCH /deployments/{deployment_id}/elasticsearch/{ref_id}/keystore
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/02/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-23715 represents a critical information disclosure flaw within the Elastic Cloud Enterprise platform prior to version 3.4.0. This security weakness resides in the logging and monitoring components of the system where sensitive data is inadvertently exposed through audit and deployment logs. The flaw specifically affects the Elastic Cloud Enterprise environment's ability to properly sanitize log outputs, creating potential attack vectors for malicious actors seeking to extract confidential information from system logs.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output sanitization within the Elastic Cloud Enterprise logging framework. When users interact with the affected APIs through PATCH requests to /api/v1/user and /deployments/{deployment_id}/elasticsearch/{ref_id}/keystore endpoints, the system fails to properly filter or obfuscate sensitive parameters before writing them to log files. This occurs because the platform's logging mechanism does not implement proper data masking or redaction protocols for user credentials, password values, and Elasticsearch keystore configurations that are passed through these API interfaces.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it creates a persistent risk for organizations using Elastic Cloud Enterprise deployments. Attackers who gain access to audit logs or deployment records can extract complete user password hashes, keystore values, and other sensitive configuration data that would normally be protected through proper access controls and encryption mechanisms. This exposure undermines the fundamental security assumptions of the platform and creates opportunities for privilege escalation, lateral movement, and credential theft within the affected environments. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects core administrative functions and Elasticsearch configuration management interfaces.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to Elastic Cloud Enterprise version 3.4.0 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the logging sanitization issues. Additional protective measures include implementing log access controls, establishing proper log rotation and retention policies, and deploying monitoring solutions to detect unauthorized access to sensitive log files. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive log reviews to identify any potential exploitation attempts and ensure that proper data loss prevention mechanisms are in place. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-209, which addresses information exposure through improper error handling, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1562.001, which involves disabling security tools through log manipulation. The remediation process should also include comprehensive security testing of logging mechanisms and implementation of automated log scanning solutions to detect similar issues in other system components.