Summary
OpenSearch vulnerable to Improper Authorization of Index Containing Sensitive Information
Workarounds
There is no recommended work around.
References
See pull request #1999 for additional details.
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory we ask that contact AWS/Amazon Security via our vulnerability reporting page or directly via email to [email protected]. Please do not create a public GitHub issue.
Impact
Requests to an OpenSearch cluster configured with advanced access control features (document level security (DLS), field level security (FLS), and/or field masking) will not be filtered when the query's search pattern matches an aliased index.
OpenSearch Dashboards creates an alias to .kibana by default, so filters with the index pattern of * to restrict access to documents or fields will not be applied.
This issue allows requests to access sensitive information when customer have acted to restrict access that specific information.
CVE-2022-35980 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.2.0.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
Already deployed Kodem?
See it in your environmentNew to Kodem? Get a demo →Remediation advice
OpenSearch 2.2.0+ contains the fix for this issue. OpenSearch Security Plugin 2.2.0.0 is compatible with OpenSearch 2.2.0.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2022-35980? CVE-2022-35980 is a high-severity security vulnerability in org.opensearch.plugin:opensearch-security (maven), affecting versions >= 2.0.0.0, <= 2.1.0.0. It is fixed in 2.2.0.0.
- How severe is CVE-2022-35980? CVE-2022-35980 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of org.opensearch.plugin:opensearch-security are affected by CVE-2022-35980? org.opensearch.plugin:opensearch-security (maven) versions >= 2.0.0.0, <= 2.1.0.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2022-35980? Yes. CVE-2022-35980 is fixed in 2.2.0.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2022-35980 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-35980 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2022-35980 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2022-35980? Upgrade
org.opensearch.plugin:opensearch-securityto 2.2.0.0 or later.