← All CVEs

CVE-2026-78609

MEDIUM 5.4

Published 2026-09-02 · Last modified 2026-09-02

Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) in Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes (ECK) can lead to unauthorized modification of data via Metadata Spoofing (CAPEC-690). An actor holding limited Kubernetes permissions confined to a single namespace could cause attacker-controlled certificate material to be included in the Elasticsearch client trust bundle managed by ECK in a separate namespace.

NO EXPLOITATION SIGNALS

No known exploitation, public exploit, or elevated probability at this time. Track for changes.

Exploitation likelihood

0.1%chance of exploitation in 30 days · 1st percentile

○ In CISA KEV ○ Public exploit / PoC

Impact if exploited

5.4CVSS 3.1 · MEDIUM

  • ConfidentialityLow
  • IntegrityLow
  • AvailabilityNone

What an attacker needs

  • Access: Reachable over the network — no local access needed
  • Privileges: Requires a low-privilege account
  • User interaction: No user interaction needed
  • Complexity: No special conditions — reliably repeatable

✓ lowers the bar for an attacker · ⚠ raises it

Proof of concept & exploit code

Test against your own equipment

curl -s https://vulnpedia.com/cve/CVE-2026-78609/poc.jsonMachine-readable PoC index for this CVE (for automation).

Listed for defensive triage, patch verification, and authorized testing on systems you own. Machine-readable: /cve/CVE-2026-78609/poc.json

Affected

Vendors Elastic

Products Eck Operator Elastic Cloud On Kubernetes

Weakness (CWE)

  • CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

Known Affected Software Configurations

VendorProductVersion range
ElasticElastic Cloud On Kubernetes≥ 2.6.0 and < 3.5.0

All CVSS metrics

  • MEDIUM 5.4 v3.1 · CNA Primary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
  • MEDIUM 5.4 v3.1 · NVD Secondary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

Sources: NVD · CVE.org · EPSS