CVE-2026-72687: Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value in Elasticsearch Leading to Denial of Service

Published Aug 13, 2026
·
Updated

A flaw in Elasticsearch allows a low-privileged authenticated user to submit a single small request containing a forged opaque identifier. Elasticsearch decodes and deserializes the identifier before confirming that it was legitimately issued by the cluster, and a size value carried inside the identifier drives an allocation that is neither capped nor accounted for by the available memory-usage controls. The resulting out-of-memory condition is fatal and terminates the affected node process, resulting in a denial of service.

Affected Software

4 affected components
Elasticsearch Elasticsearch
Elastic Elasticsearch>=8.0.0<8.19.20
Elastic Elasticsearch>=9.0.0<9.4.5
Elastic Elasticsearch>=9.5.0<9.5.1

Event History

Aug 13, 2026
CVE Published
via MITRE·07:11 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·07:11 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
Data Sourced
via NVD·08:17 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2026-72687?

The severity of CVE-2026-72687 is classified as medium with a score of 6.5.

2

What does CVE-2026-72687 affect?

CVE-2026-72687 affects Elasticsearch and can lead to a denial of service through memory allocation issues.

3

How does CVE-2026-72687 work?

CVE-2026-72687 allows low-privileged authenticated users to submit requests with excessive size values that can overwhelm the system.

4

How do I fix CVE-2026-72687?

To fix CVE-2026-72687, update Elasticsearch to the latest version that addresses this vulnerability.

5

Who is impacted by CVE-2026-72687?

CVE-2026-72687 impacts environments where low-privileged authenticated users can send requests to Elasticsearch.

Contact

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