How severe is CVE-2026-72687?

CVE-2026-72687 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2026-72687 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (34th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-72687?

CVE-2026-72687 affects Elastic Elasticsearch. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2026-72687?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2026-72687 published?

CVE-2026-72687 was published on 2026-08-13 and last updated on 2026-09-01.

CVE-2026-72687

CVE-2026-72687 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Elastic Elasticsearch with a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-789.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 6.5)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (34th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-789
Affected product: Elastic Elasticsearch
Published: 2026-08-13
Last modified: 2026-09-01

Description

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.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-72687?: 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.
How severe is CVE-2026-72687?: CVE-2026-72687 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2026-72687 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (34th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2026-72687?: CVE-2026-72687 affects Elastic Elasticsearch. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2026-72687?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2026-72687 published?: CVE-2026-72687 was published on 2026-08-13 and last updated on 2026-09-01.

References

https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-8-19-20-9-4-5-9-5-1-security-update-esa-2026-79/389506

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:elastic:elasticsearch:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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Threat intelligence

Threat-intel indicators referencing this CVE:

223.15.242.2 (ipv4-addr)