CVE-2021-22145 — elasticsearch-rest-client
MEDIUMCVE-2021-22145 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) Information Exposure vulnerability in org.elasticsearch.client:elasticsearch-rest-client. 3 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.elasticsearch.client:elasticsearch-rest-client — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information in Elasticsearch
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2021-22145 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,238 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.elasticsearch.client:elasticsearch-rest-clientReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
A memory disclosure vulnerability was identified in Elasticsearch 7.10.0 to 7.13.3 error reporting. A user with the ability to submit arbitrary queries to Elasticsearch could submit a malformed query that would result in an error message returned containing previously used portions of a data buffer. This buffer could contain sensitive information such as Elasticsearch documents or authentication details.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.elasticsearch.client:elasticsearch-rest-client | ≥ 7.10.0&&< 7.13.4 | 7.13.4org.elasticsearch.client:elasticsearch-rest-client:7.13.4 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
ElasticSearch 7.13.3 - Memory disclosure
by r0ny · Jul 23, 2021
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.elasticsearch.client:elasticsearch-rest-client, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.elasticsearch.client:elasticsearch-rest-client to 7.13.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-22145 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2021-22145 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2021-22145. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
How to detect CVE-2021-22145
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id cve-2021-22145 -u https://target- Template
- Elasticsearch 7.10.0-7.13.3 - Information Disclosure
- Severity
- medium
- Impact
- An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information.
- Remediation
- Upgrade Elasticsearch to a version that is not affected by CVE-2021-22145.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (dhiyaneshDk), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2021-22145 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2021-22145 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.