Bubble.io 0-Day Lets Attackers Run Arbitrary Queries via Elasticsearch

A critical zero-day vulnerability in Bubble.io’s infrastructure has exposed thousands of no-code applications to database breaches, enabling attackers to execute unauthorized Elasticsearch queries and extract sensitive user data.

The flaw, discovered by security researchers in late 2024 and publicly confirmed this week, leverages insecure cryptographic implementations to bypass platform safeguards.

Vulnerability Breakdown

Core Issue: Bubble.io’s encryption mechanism for Elasticsearch queries uses predictable, hardcoded parameters, allowing attackers to decrypt and manipulate requests.

Researchers reverse-engineered the platform’s JavaScript code and HTTP headers to identify weaknesses in its AES-CBC and PBKDF2_HMAC implementations.

Key Components:

• Elasticsearch: Powers search functionality for Bubble apps.
• AES-CBC + PBKDF2_HMAC: Encryption methods with reusable initialization vectors (IVs) like po9 fl1.

Exploit Mechanics

Payload Structure
Each encrypted request contains three Base64-encoded components:

• y: Timestamp
• x: Initialization Vector (IV)
• z: Encrypted query using the app’s name (from X-Bubble-Appname header) as a decryption key.

Decryption Process
Attackers can:

1. Extract the app name from HTTP headers.
2. Use hardcoded IVs shared across all Bubble apps.
3. Decrypt the payload to reveal raw Elasticsearch queries.

Attack Demonstration

A benign query limited to fetching one user’s email:

json{"query": {"term": {"email": "user@example.com"}}, "size": 1}

Can be modified to dump all user data:

json{"query": {"match_all": {}}, "size": 10000}

This exposes emails, hashed passwords, payment details, and other sensitive fields.

Impact Analysis

1. Data Exposure: Full database extraction via manipulated Elasticsearch queries.
2. Cross-Tenant Attacks: Shared hosting infrastructure lets attackers pivot to other Bubble apps.
3. Security Control Bypass: Disables query sanitization and result limits.

Current Status: No official patch exists as of April 18, 2025.

Researchers recommend:

• Auditing Elasticsearch configurations.
• Rotating API keys and sensitive data.
• Monitoring logs for abnormal activity.

Broader Implications

While Bubble.io promotes HTTPS encryption, DDoS protection, and user-defined privacy rules, this vulnerability highlights systemic risks in no-code platforms:

• Opaque Infrastructure: Abstracted backend processes obscure critical security flaws.
• Cryptographic Missteps: Hardcoded IVs and predictable keys violate encryption best practices.

The Bubble.io flaw underscores the paradox of no-code platforms: democratizing development while introducing hidden vulnerabilities

As organizations await a fix, the incident serves as a stark reminder that ease of use must not compromise security rigor.

Developers using such tools must prioritize third-party audits and assume responsibility for data protection, even when working without code.

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