# CVE-2021-37940: Server-side request forgery in Enterprisesearch

> A malicious admin can exploit an SSRF vulnerability in the GitHub Enterprise Server integration to view non-public hosts, requiring specific integration configuration.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 7 Dec 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-xj2x-h5m7-w8gv

## What is CVE-2021-37940?

CVE-2021-37940 is a medium-severity server-side request forgery vulnerability in Elastic Enterprisesearch, published on 7 Dec 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An information disclosure via GET request server-side request forgery vulnerability was discovered with the Workplace Search Github Enterprise Server integration. Using this vulnerability, a malicious Workplace Search admin could use the GHES integration to view hosts that might not be publicly accessible.

Weakness: CWE-918 (Server-Side Request Forgery)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-37940?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Elastic Enterprise Search.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-37940?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-37940 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-37940 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-37940 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Elastic Enterprisesearch

- [CVE-2021-22148](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22148/): Missing authorization in Elastic Enterprise Search (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-22149](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22149/): Missing authorization in Elastic Enterprise Search (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-7018](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7018/): Privilege escalation in Elastic Enterprise Search (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-49923](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-49923/): Enterprise Search Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File (medium 6.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-37940 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-37940 is a medium-severity server-side request forgery vulnerability in Elastic Enterprisesearch, published on 7 Dec 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-37940 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Elastic Enterprisesearch. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37940/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37940/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-37940
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-37940
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-37940

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37940/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.