CVE-2022-41918

Workarounds

There is no recommended work around.

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please contact AWS/Amazon Security via our issue reporting page (https://aws.amazon.com/security/vulnerability-reporting/) or directly via email to [email protected]. Please do not create a public GitHub issue.

There is an issue with the implementation of fine-grained access control rules (document-level security, field-level security and field masking) where they are not correctly applied to the indices that back data streams potentially leading to incorrect access authorization. This issue can only be triggered by authenticated users authorized to read those data streams which are backed by the impacted indexes. Additionally, existing privileged users cannot access random indexes within these clusters; they can only access indexes to which they have already been granted permission.

The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions. Typical impact: unauthorized data access or execution of privileged operations.

CVE-2022-41918 has a CVSS score of 6.3 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, low 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 (1.3.7, 2.4.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

OpenSearch 1.3.7 and 2.4.0 contain a fix for this issue.

1. What is CVE-2022-41918? CVE-2022-41918 is a medium-severity incorrect authorization vulnerability in org.opensearch.plugin:opensearch-security (maven), affecting versions < 1.3.7. It is fixed in 1.3.7, 2.4.0. The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions.
2. How severe is CVE-2022-41918? CVE-2022-41918 has a CVSS score of 6.3 (Medium). 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.
3. Which versions of org.opensearch.plugin:opensearch-security are affected by CVE-2022-41918? org.opensearch.plugin:opensearch-security (maven) versions < 1.3.7 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2022-41918? Yes. CVE-2022-41918 is fixed in 1.3.7, 2.4.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2022-41918 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-41918 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
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2022-41918 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.
7. How do I fix CVE-2022-41918?
   • Upgrade org.opensearch.plugin:opensearch-security to 1.3.7 or later
   • Upgrade org.opensearch.plugin:opensearch-security to 2.4.0 or later