Overview
CVE-2025-13653 is a medium severity vulnerability affecting Search Guard FLX versions 3.1.0 up to 4.0.0. This vulnerability allows authenticated users to read documents from data streams without the necessary privileges when enterprise modules are disabled. This could lead to sensitive data exposure.
Technical Details
The vulnerability stems from improper authorization checks when enterprise modules are disabled in Search Guard FLX. Specifically, specially crafted requests can bypass the intended access controls for data streams, allowing an authenticated user with insufficient permissions to retrieve data they should not have access to. The exact nature of the “specially crafted requests” are detailed in the vendor’s advisory and typically exploit inconsistencies in privilege validation when certain features are not active.
CVSS Analysis
This vulnerability has a CVSS v3 score of 4.3 (Medium).
- Attack Vector: Network (AV:N)
- Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L)
- Privileges Required: Low (PR:L)
- User Interaction: None (UI:N)
- Scope: Unchanged (S:U)
- Confidentiality: Low (C:L)
- Integrity: None (I:N)
- Availability: None (A:N)
This score reflects the relative ease of exploitation and the limited impact, specifically data confidentiality. No integrity or availability is affected.
Possible Impact
Successful exploitation of CVE-2025-13653 can lead to:
- Unauthorized access to sensitive data stored within data streams.
- Potential data breaches if the exposed data contains confidential information.
- Compliance violations due to unauthorized data access.
Mitigation or Patch Steps
The recommended mitigation is to upgrade to Search Guard FLX version 4.0.1 or later. This version includes a fix for the vulnerability.
- **Upgrade Search Guard FLX:** Follow the official upgrade instructions provided by Search Guard to ensure a smooth transition and avoid any compatibility issues.
- **Review Access Controls:** After upgrading, review and verify all access control configurations to ensure proper data stream security.
