Summary
An issue was discovered where improper authorization controls affected certain queries that could allow a malicious actor to circumvent Document Level Security in Elasticsearch and get access to documents that their roles would normally not allow.
Impact
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.
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.
Remediation advice
Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2024-12539? CVE-2024-12539 is a medium-severity incorrect authorization vulnerability in org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch (maven), affecting versions >= 8.16.0, < 8.16.2. It is fixed in 8.16.2. The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions.
- Which versions of org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch are affected by CVE-2024-12539? org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch (maven) versions >= 8.16.0, < 8.16.2 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2024-12539? Yes. CVE-2024-12539 is fixed in 8.16.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2024-12539 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-12539 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-2024-12539 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-2024-12539? Upgrade
org.elasticsearch:elasticsearchto 8.16.2 or later.