CVE-2015-4165
HIGHCVE-2015-4165 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-264 vulnerability in elasticsearch elasticsearch. O3 Security detects and blocks CVE-2015-4165 exploitation at runtime via eBPF exploit-chain detection and L7 egress monitoring, even on unpatched systems.
The snapshot API in Elasticsearch before 1.6.0 when another application exists on the system that can read Lucene files and execute code from them, is accessible by the attacker, and…
Description
The snapshot API in Elasticsearch before 1.6.0 when another application exists on the system that can read Lucene files and execute code from them, is accessible by the attacker, and the Java VM on which Elasticsearch is running can write to a location that the other application can read and execute from, allows remote authenticated users to write to and create arbitrary snapshot metadata files, and potentially execute arbitrary code.
Affected Products
elasticsearchelasticsearchDetection & mitigation playbook
Vendor / applianceDetect
Inventory every elasticsearch elasticsearch deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above. Because the exploit targets the running system rather than your application code, also watch for remote code execution at the network and runtime layer — O3 flags the exploit behaviour from runtime telemetry and egress traffic even before a vulnerable build is confirmed.
Remediation status
No patch has shipped for CVE-2015-4165 yet — track the elasticsearch elasticsearch advisory for a fixed release and apply the workarounds below in the meantime.
Mitigate without a patch
Cut exposure now: restrict the management/admin interface to trusted networks, segment the device, and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations and any WAF/IPS signature. O3's runtime protection blocks the exploit chain at execution, holding the line on unpatched or end-of-life systems until you can patch.
How O3 protects you
O3 detects and blocks CVE-2015-4165 exploitation at runtime: eBPF exploit-chain detection, plus L7 egress monitoring that catches the post-exploitation callback and severs the attacker's outbound channel.
Tailored to CVE-2015-4165. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2015-4165 being exploited in your environment?
O3's eBPF runtime sensors and L7 egress monitoring detect and block the CVE-2015-4165 exploit chain at execution — protecting unpatched and end-of-life systems until the vendor patch is applied.