CVE-2026-56143
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Allocation of Resources Without Limits in Elasticsearch

Publication date: 2026-09-01

Last updated on: 2026-09-01

Assigner: Elastic

Description
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling (CWE-770) in Elasticsearch can lead to a denial of service via Excessive Allocation (CAPEC-130). A user with elevated privileges can submit a specially crafted request that causes excessive memory consumption, which may render the affected node unavailable.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-09-01
Last Modified
2026-09-01
Generated
2026-09-02
AI Q&A
2026-09-01
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-56143
EUVD
EUVD-2026-69558

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 3 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
elastic elasticsearch to 8.19.19 (inc)
elastic elasticsearch to 9.2.8 (inc)
elastic elasticsearch *

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-770 The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.

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Executive Summary

CVE-2026-56143 is an Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability (CWE-770) in Elasticsearch. It allows users with elevated privileges to submit specially crafted requests that cause excessive memory consumption, leading to a denial of service by rendering affected nodes unavailable.

Detection Guidance

Detecting this vulnerability requires monitoring for excessive memory consumption by Elasticsearch processes. Check for unusually high memory usage in Elasticsearch nodes using system monitoring tools like top, htop, or ps commands. Look for processes named elasticsearch consuming abnormally high memory. Additionally, review Elasticsearch logs for error messages indicating memory allocation failures or node unavailability.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can cause system outages by consuming excessive memory, making Elasticsearch nodes unavailable. It requires elevated privileges to exploit, so unauthorized users cannot trigger it. The impact includes degraded performance or complete service disruption for users relying on Elasticsearch.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could impact compliance with GDPR and HIPAA by potentially causing service disruptions due to denial of service. GDPR requires maintaining system availability and integrity, while HIPAA mandates safeguards against unauthorized access or disruptions to critical systems. Excessive memory consumption may lead to node unavailability, affecting data processing and access.

Mitigation Strategies

Immediately upgrade Elasticsearch to version 8.19.20 or 9.3.0 or later to address the vulnerability. If upgrading is not immediately possible, restrict access to users with elevated privileges and monitor for suspicious requests. There are no available workarounds for users unable to upgrade, so patching is the only mitigation.

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