CVE-2021-22146 Explained : Impact and Mitigation
Discover the impact of CVE-2021-22146 on Elastic Cloud Enterprise clusters. Learn about the Elasticsearch "anonymous" user exposure risk and how to mitigate this security vulnerability.
Elastic Cloud Enterprise is affected by CVE-2021-22146, where all versions have the Elasticsearch "anonymous" user enabled by default in deployed clusters. This could allow an attacker to gain insight into certain details of a deployed cluster.
Understanding CVE-2021-22146
This section will cover the important aspects related to the CVE-2021-22146 vulnerability in Elastic Cloud Enterprise.
What is CVE-2021-22146?
CVE-2021-22146 affects Elastic Cloud Enterprise, enabling the Elasticsearch "anonymous" user by default in deployed clusters, potentially exposing cluster details to attackers.
The Impact of CVE-2021-22146
The impact of this vulnerability is that an unauthorized user could exploit the default setting to gather information about the Elastic Cloud Enterprise cluster.
Technical Details of CVE-2021-22146
In this section, we will delve into the technical specifics of CVE-2021-22146.
Vulnerability Description
All versions of Elastic Cloud Enterprise have the Elasticsearch "anonymous" user enabled by default, which could be leveraged by an attacker to gain insights into cluster details.
Affected Systems and Versions
The vulnerability impacts all versions of Elastic Cloud Enterprise where the "anonymous" user is active in deployed clusters.
Exploitation Mechanism
Attackers can exploit the enabled "anonymous" user in Elasticsearch to gather specific details about the deployed Elastic Cloud Enterprise cluster.
Mitigation and Prevention
To safeguard your system from CVE-2021-22146, follow the mitigation strategies outlined below.
Immediate Steps to Take
Ensure that the Elasticsearch "anonymous" user is limited or disabled to prevent unauthorized access to cluster details.
Long-Term Security Practices
Implement strict access controls and regularly monitor the Elastic Cloud Enterprise cluster for any unauthorized activities.
Patching and Updates
Stay up-to-date with security patches and updates provided by Elastic to address CVE-2021-22146 and other related vulnerabilities.