Vulnerability Database

346,508

Total vulnerabilities in the database

OpenSearch unauthorized data access on fields protected by field masking for fields of type ip, geo_point, geo_shape, xy_point, xy_shape — org.opensearch.plugin / opensearch-security

Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

Impact

OpenSearch versions 2.19.2 and earlier improperly apply field masking rules on fields of the types ip, geo_point, geo_shape, xy_point, xy_shape. While the content of these fields is properly redacted in the _source document returned by search operations, the original unredacted values remain available to search queries. This allows to reconstruct the original field contents using range queries.

Additionally, the content of fields of type geo_point, geo_shape, xy_point, xy_shape is returned in an unredacted form if requested via the fields option of the search API.

Patches

The issue has been resolved in OpenSearch 3.0.0 and OpenSearch 2.19.3.

Workarounds

If you cannot upgrade immediately, you can avoid the problem by using field level security (FLS) protection on fields of the affected types instead of field masking.

CVSS v3:

  • Severity: Unknown
  • Score:
  • AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CWEs:

Frequently Asked Questions

A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.

A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.

Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.

Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.

SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.