deviantony
Security Risk Assessment
Security Risk Assessment
While reviewing the Docker ELK stack configuration for production deployment considerations, I identified several security concerns that could expose Elasticsearch clusters to significant risks in enterprise environments.
Issues Identified
Critical: Default Password Configuration
File: .env (lines 10, 16, 21)
ELASTIC_PASSWORD='changeme'
LOGSTASH_INTERNAL_PASSWORD='changeme'
KIBANA_SYSTEM_PASSWORD='changeme'
Risk Impact:
- Severity: Critical (P0)
- Exposure: Complete cluster access with superuser privileges
- Attack Vector: Default credentials are well-known and easily exploitable
- Business Impact: Data breaches, log tampering, service disruption
High: Network Port Exposure
File: docker-compose.yml (lines 70-71)
ports:
- 9200:9200 # Elasticsearch REST API
- 9300:9300 # Cluster communication
Risk Impact:
- Direct external access to Elasticsearch APIs
- Potential for unauthorized data access if combined with default passwords
- Missing network segmentation controls
Recommendations
Immediate Actions
- Update Documentation: Add prominent security warnings about changing default passwords
- Environment Template: Consider using placeholder values like
CHANGE_THIS_PASSWORD - Security Checklist: Provide pre-production security validation steps
Enhanced Security
# Example secure password generation
ELASTIC_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 32)
LOGSTASH_INTERNAL_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 32)
KIBANA_SYSTEM_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 32)
Context
This review was conducted as part of systematic configuration security analysis for enterprise infrastructure deployments. The ELK stack's widespread usage (16k+ stars) makes these security considerations particularly important for the community.
Assessment Focus: Configuration security, not application vulnerabilities Scope: Docker Compose deployment configuration Environment: Production readiness evaluation
Security Review Team Configuration Security Analysis
All the concerns raised here are valid.
Since this issue was probably automatically generated, I would like to use the occasion to remind users who may stumble upon it that docker-elk is not production-ready. This is mentioned early in the README:
https://github.com/deviantony/docker-elk/blob/959a57ba3b4b2a06b197969f8248a4af18ebbca5/README.md?plain=1#L112-L115
Furthermore, the Initial setup section starts with instructions for resetting passwords to securely generated ones.
In case any of this information is not clear enough, suggestions for improvement are always welcome, and so are pull requests.
