CVE-2026-72649 Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Elasticsearch Leading to Remote Code Execution
An authenticated attacker with model deployment privileges can achieve remote code execution by uploading a malicious trained model artifact to Elasticsearch.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-72649?
CVE-2026-72649 is a high-severity unsafe deserialization vulnerability in Elastic Elasticsearch, published on 1 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502) in the Elasticsearch machine learning component can lead to remote code execution via Object Injection (CAPEC-586). A specially crafted trained model artifact could cause attacker-controlled logic to execute with a materially broader system-call surface than intended. Exploitation requires an authenticated user with sufficient privileges to create and deploy trained models.
Weakness: CWE-502
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72649?
1 open source package ship an affected version, including elasticsearch. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
elasticsearch Bitnami | From 8.0.0 | 8.19.20, 9.4.5, 9.5.1 |
Products include Elastic Elasticsearch.
How do I fix CVE-2026-72649?
Upgrade elasticsearch to a fixed version for your release line: 8.19.20, 9.4.5 or 9.5.1.
Upgrade, and only deserialise data from trusted sources or with an allow-list of types. More about Unsafe deserialization.
Is CVE-2026-72649 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72649 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Elastic Elasticsearch
- CVE-2015-1427 Elasticsearch Groovy Scripting Engine Remote Code Execution
- CVE-2014-3120 Elasticsearch Remote Code Execution
- CVE-2015-5377 Code injection in n/a
- CVE-2026-72642 Use of Out-of-range Pointer Offset in the Elasticsearch Machine Learning Native Inference Process
- CVE-2020-7014 Privilege Escalation Flaw in Elasticsearch
Sources
Also known as AZL-98451, BIT-elasticsearch-2026-72649, CLEANSTART-2026-CF09659, CLEANSTART-2026-NO66415, GHSA-5fhg-p2p3-wmjf, MINI-2c54-727r-hrrw and 20 more.