# CVE-2023-31418: Elasticsearch uncontrolled resource consumption

> An unauthenticated attacker can cause Elasticsearch to crash via OutOfMemory errors by sending malformed HTTP requests, requiring an upgrade to mitigate.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 26 Oct 2023
- **Updated:** 13 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** BIT-elasticsearch-2023-31418, GHSA-2cqf-6xv9-f22w, MINI-q2jh-m7m4-mrhv, MINI-xppf-22vr-29w4, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-31418

## What is CVE-2023-31418?

CVE-2023-31418 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Elastic Elasticsearch, published on 26 Oct 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue has been identified with how Elasticsearch handled incoming requests on the HTTP layer. An unauthenticated user could force an Elasticsearch node to exit with an OutOfMemory error by sending a moderate number of malformed HTTP requests. The issue was identified by Elastic Engineering and we have no indication that the issue is known or that it is being exploited in the wild.

Weakness: CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-31418?

5 open source packages ship an affected version, including org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch and elasticsearch. It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch` | Maven | All versions | 7.17.13 |
| `org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch` | Maven | All versions | 7.17.13 |
| `org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch` | Maven | From 8.0.0 | 8.9.0 |
| `org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch` | Maven | From 8.0.0 | 8.9.0 |
| `elasticsearch` | Bitnami | All versions | 7.17.13, 8.8.3 |

Products: Elastic Elastic Cloud Enterprise, Elastic Elasticsearch.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-31418?

Upgrade org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch to a fixed version for your release line: 7.17.13 or 8.9.0.

## Is CVE-2023-31418 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-31418 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Elastic Elasticsearch

- [CVE-2025-37729](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-37729/): Elastic Cloud Enterprise (ECE) Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2025-37736](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-37736/): Elastic Cloud Enterprise Improper Authorization (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2024-37282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-37282/): Privilege escalation in Elastic Cloud Enterprise (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2018-3828](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-3828/): Information disclosure in Elastic Cloud Enterprise (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2022-23715](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23715/): Information disclosure in Elastic Cloud Enterprise (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-31418 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-31418 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Elastic Elasticsearch, published on 26 Oct 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-31418 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch (Maven): affected all versions; fixed in 7.17.13
- org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch (Maven): affected all versions; fixed in 7.17.13
- org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch (Maven): affected from 8.0.0; fixed in 8.9.0
- org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch (Maven): affected from 8.0.0; fixed in 8.9.0
- elasticsearch (Bitnami): affected all versions; fixed in 7.17.13, 8.8.3

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-2023-31418/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-31418/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-31418
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-31418
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-31418

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-31418/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.