`CVE-2015-5531` Elasticsearch

Affected software	Elasticsearch
Severity	5.0 Medium CVSS 2.0
Fixed in	`1.6.1`
Weakness	Path traversal (CWE-22)
Published	17 Aug 2015
Updated	17 Jun 2026

Description

Directory traversal vulnerability in Elasticsearch before 1.6.1 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via unspecified vectors related to snapshot API calls.

Exploitation status

Exploited

Real-world exploitation reported by VulnCheck KEV. CISA has not confirmed it.

CISA KEV not listed
VulnCheck KEV listed Exploitation reported in the wild. 1 citation · 3 exploits · earliest 2025-05-27.
CISA Vulnrichment no assessment published
Indexed PoC 3 indexed Published artifacts you can open, in Exploit-DB, GitHub PoC, Nuclei; first seen 2015-10-02.
EPSS 95% chance in 30 days A model's forecast, not a report of exploitation. Higher than 99.9% of all scored CVEs.

VulnCheck KEV

Exploitation evidence from VulnCheck Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (VulnCheck KEV), used under VulnCheck's community terms. View CVE-2015-5531 in VulnCheck (free account).

Evidence	Source	Detail	Date
Reported exploitation	greynoise.io	/blog/coordinated-cloud-based-scanning-operation-targets-75-known-exposure-points	2025-05-27
Exploit reference	VulnCheck XDB 6afe112371ff	Exploit type: initial-access	2022-06-26
Exploit reference	VulnCheck XDB bf7c15878cf8	Exploit type: info-leak	2022-08-01
Exploit reference	VulnCheck XDB c8ec0e6add3a	Exploit type: info-leak	2026-10-13

Evidence

Source

Detail

Date

Reported exploitation

greynoise.io

/blog/coordinated-cloud-based-scanning-operation-targets-75-known-exposure-points

2025-05-27

Exploit reference

VulnCheck XDB 6afe112371ff

Exploit type: initial-access

2022-06-26

Exploit reference

VulnCheck XDB bf7c15878cf8

Exploit type: info-leak

2022-08-01

Exploit reference

VulnCheck XDB c8ec0e6add3a

Exploit type: info-leak

2026-10-13

1 of these are GitHub repositories with fewer than 5 stars. They are listed for reference and don't count toward the exploitation status above.

Index	Artifact	Stars	First seen
GitHub PoC	MoCh3n/CVE-2015-5531-POC	2	2022-09-21
Exploit-DB	ElasticSearch 1.6.0 - Arbitrary File Download		2015-10-02
Nuclei	ElasticSearch <1.6.1 - Local File Inclusion

Index

Artifact

Stars

First seen

GitHub PoC

MoCh3n/CVE-2015-5531-POC

2022-09-21

Exploit-DB

ElasticSearch 1.6.0 - Arbitrary File Download

2015-10-02

Nuclei

ElasticSearch <1.6.1 - Local File Inclusion

Waratek protection

Protected by Waratek

Waratek has a rule that blocks attacks on this vulnerability.

Protection full Path traversal
Action available security rule
Review automated Inferred
Record active

Decided by	A vulnerability class already blocked by an ARMR security rule
Finding	Protected by Waratek's ARMR path-traversal security rule, which blocks this class of attack at the JVM level without a rule written for this CVE specifically. The CVE's weakness is CWE-22: Path Traversal.

Decided by

A vulnerability class already blocked by an ARMR security rule

Finding

Protected by Waratek's ARMR path-traversal security rule, which blocks this class of attack at the JVM level without a rule written for this CVE specifically. The CVE's weakness is CWE-22: Path Traversal.

How to mitigate CVE-2015-5531

Upgrade Elasticsearch to 1.6.1 or later. Until you can, Waratek RASP blocks exploitation with its path traversal rule. It runs inside the Java application, with no code changes.

Waratek RASP Runtime protection for Java applications

Affected software and releases

Maven packages

Affected and fixed versions, from OSV.dev

Package Introduced Fixed Last affected

org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch 0 1.6.1 unbounded

Package	Introduced	Fixed	Last affected
`org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch`	0	`1.6.1`	unbounded

Products and versions

2 products, 2 version entries

Source	Vendor	Product	Scheme	Affected versions
nvd	elasticsearch	elasticsearch	generic	≤ 1.6.0
osv	org.elasticsearch	elasticsearch	generic	＜ 1.6.1

Source

Vendor

Product

Scheme

Affected versions

nvd

elasticsearch

generic

≤ 1.6.0

osv

org.elasticsearch

elasticsearch

generic

＜ 1.6.1

References

URL	Tags
https://www.elastic.co/community/security	WEB
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/38383	WEB
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/132721/Elasticsearch-Directory-Traversal.html	WEB
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/133797/ElasticSearch-Path-Traversal-Arbitrary-File-Download.html	WEB
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/133964/ElasticSearch-Snapshot-API-Directory-Traversal.html	WEB
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/536017/100/0/threaded
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/75935
https://www.elastic.co/community/security/	Vendor Advisory
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/38383/

URL

Timeline

Published	2015-08-17	By the CVE Program.
VulnCheck KEV: earliest evidence	2025-05-27	Date of the oldest evidence of exploitation in VulnCheck KEV's record. VulnCheck does not publish the date it listed the CVE.
NVD record modified	2026-06-17	NVD's own last-modified date for this record.
VulnCheck KEV: latest evidence	2026-10-13	Date of the newest report, exploit reference or honeypot sighting in VulnCheck KEV's record.

Published

2015-08-17

By the CVE Program.

VulnCheck KEV: earliest evidence

2025-05-27

Date of the oldest evidence of exploitation in VulnCheck KEV's record. VulnCheck does not publish the date it listed the CVE.

NVD record modified

2026-06-17

NVD's own last-modified date for this record.

VulnCheck KEV: latest evidence

2026-10-13

Date of the newest report, exploit reference or honeypot sighting in VulnCheck KEV's record.

How VRT decided (17 of 24 rules ran)

17 of 24 rules ran. The rest didn't run because an earlier rule had already settled the CVE.

# Rule Outcome Status Detail

identity: Does this identifier describe a vulnerability at all? the first rule that matches decides

1 rejected no match CVE Program withdrawal of this identifier

scope: Is it a vulnerability Waratek protects? the first rule that matches decides

2 armr-patch-file no match An ARMR patch file on disk for this CVE

3 armr-secure-rule-file no match An ARMR security-rule template on disk for this CVE

4 manual-classification no match A researcher's recorded decision for this specific CVE

5 manual classification no match Manual classification of this CVE in the legacy dataset

6 non-java-upstream no match A root cause in non-Java code: an OS kernel, a C library, or a bundled runtime

7 oracle-component no match The defect being in a component of a tracked product the agent does not reach: JavaFX, the Java SE installer, the JInitiator browser plug-in, the native WebLogic proxy plug-in, or a native part of Oracle Application Server or Collaboration Suite (HTTP Server, Web Cache, Internet Directory, mail and calendar servers). Oracle gives these no CPE of their own and names them only in the description.

8 java-client-side no match Oracle's own risk-matrix note saying the CVE is reached only through untrusted code in the Java sandbox (applets, Web Start) or only through a client installation of Java, so a server running its own trusted code is not exposed

9 osv-maven matched In scope Maven packages: org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch

10 cna-maven-package not reached An affected Maven artifact named by the CNA itself

11 known-cpe-product not reached An NVD CPE naming a product ARMR tracks

12 cna-cpe-product not reached A CPE the CNA published naming a tracked product. Oracle publishes these on advisory day, months before NVD.

13 oracle-advisory-family not reached A tracked product family named in Oracle's own risk matrix. CPE cannot carry a suite name, only a module.

14 cna-named-product not reached A tracked product named in words by the CVE's own CNA, on a record with no CPE yet. Apache and Eclipse publish these on advisory day, before NVD adds CPE data.

15 non-deployable-product not reached The only affected product being a sealed appliance image, where Java runs but no -javaagent can be attached

16 unmatched-product not reached No tracked product matched above, and none present at all

disposition: What do we do about one that is? every rule runs

17 patch-hint no match A reference pointing at the upstream fix: a commit, a PR, a Red Hat bug

18 open-source-maven matched Mitigation candidate Open-source Maven artifact indexed by OSV (Maven packages: org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch). The source is public, which makes an ARMR patch rule a candidate; nothing here establishes that one can be written.

19 poc-derivable skipped An indexed exploit clearing the evidence bar to reverse-engineer, where there is no source to read

20 no-exploit skipped Nothing to build a rule from yet: no published exploit, no CISA record of exploitation and no source-level change to read

21 secure-rule-match decided it matched Protected by Waratek CWE-22 (Path Traversal) is mitigable by an ARMR path-traversal security rule.

22 exploited-no-fix-or-poc skipped Somebody exploiting this CVE (a CISA or VulnCheck KEV listing, or a CISA verdict of active exploitation), with no fix, source code or PoC to build a rule from

23 below-action-threshold skipped Medium or Low severity, no CISA or VulnCheck KEV listing, no PoC clearing the evidence bar, no CISA verdict, no Oracle advisory

24 no-exploit-published skipped Exploit code for this candidate, published in a reviewed catalogue or a GitHub repository with 5 or more stars, or in use per CISA or VulnCheck; not only a CISA verdict, a forecast, or nothing at all

Products the scope rules checked

The products this CVE's record names, and whether VRT tracks each one. The scope rules decided on these.

Vendor Product Tracked CPE Source

elasticsearch elasticsearch not tracked cpe:2.3:a:elasticsearch:elasticsearch:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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