# CVE-2014-3120: Elasticsearch Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

> CVE-2014-3120: Elasticsearch Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. CVSS 8.1 (CVSS 3.1), in CISA KEV.

Canonical: https://rewindex.com/cve/CVE-2014-3120
Last updated: 2025-10-22T00:05:37Z

- Published: 2014-07-28 19:00 UTC · Updated: 2025-10-22 00:05 UTC · Assigner: mitre
- CVSS: 8.1 (CVSS 3.1) · Severity: High · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
- EPSS: 88.6%, 100th percentile (scored 2026-10-25)
- CISA KEV: yes, added 2022-03-25, federal due date 2022-04-15, ransomware use: Unknown

## Description

The default configuration in Elasticsearch before 1.2 enables dynamic scripting, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary MVEL expressions and Java code via the source parameter to \_search.  NOTE: this only violates the vendor's intended security policy if the user does not run Elasticsearch in its own independent virtual machine.

## CISA required action

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

## Affected vendors and products

- Elastic: Elasticsearch

## Tracked companies

- [Elastic Cloud](https://rewindex.com/company/elastic-cloud.md)

## References

- [CVE record on cve.org](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-3120)
- [NVD entry](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-3120)
- [http://bouk.co/blog/elasticsearch-rce/](http://bouk.co/blog/elasticsearch-rce/)
- [https://www.elastic.co/blog/logstash-1-4-3-released](https://www.elastic.co/blog/logstash-1-4-3-released)
- [https://www.elastic.co/community/security/](https://www.elastic.co/community/security/)
- [https://www.found.no/foundation/elasticsearch-security/\#staying-safe-while-developing-with-elasticsearch](https://www.found.no/foundation/elasticsearch-security/#staying-safe-while-developing-with-elasticsearch)
- [http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/33370](http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/33370)
- [http://www.osvdb.org/106949](http://www.osvdb.org/106949)
- [http://www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/multi/elasticsearch/script\_mvel\_rce](http://www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/multi/elasticsearch/script_mvel_rce)
- [http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/67731](http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/67731)

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_Sources: CVE records from the CVE Program (cve.org). CVE® is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. (https://www.cve.org/) This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. (https://nvd.nist.gov/) Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog from CISA. (https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog) EPSS scores from FIRST (Exploit Prediction Scoring System). (https://www.first.org/epss/)_


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Canonical: https://rewindex.com/cve/CVE-2014-3120 · Markdown: https://rewindex.com/cve/CVE-2014-3120.md · JSON: https://rewindex.com/api/v1/cves/CVE-2014-3120 · Data licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) · Generated 2026-10-26T02:05:19.085Z