---
title: Enable X Pack Basic Security
description: Describes what AutoOps detects and surfaces with the Enable X Pack Basic Security insight: Elasticsearch security is not enabled, so the cluster lacks authentication and role-based access controls.
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/autoops-insights/tree/main/elasticsearch/enable_x_pack_basic_security
products:
  - Elastic Cloud Enterprise
  - Elastic Cloud Hosted
  - Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes
  - Elasticsearch
applies_to:
  - Elastic Cloud Hosted: Generally available
  - Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes: Generally available
  - Elastic Cloud Enterprise: Generally available
  - Self-managed Elastic deployments: Generally available
---

# Enable X Pack Basic Security
Elasticsearch security is not enabled, so the cluster lacks authentication and role-based access controls. Unprotected clusters are easier targets for unauthorized access and misuse.
<note>
  For a complete list of insights, refer to [AutoOps insights](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/autoops-insights/tree/main/elasticsearch).
</note>


## Insight details


| Field     | Value           |
|-----------|-----------------|
| Component | Elasticsearch   |
| Severity  | Medium          |
| Scope     | Cluster         |
| Domains   | security-safety |


## Example: What you might see in AutoOps

The following is an example of what you might see when this insight is triggered. Real insights use live data and links from your deployment or cluster.

### X-Pack security is off


#### What was detected

_No description available._

#### Recommendations

<note>
  AutoOps shows different recommendations depending on how their conditions match your deployment or cluster.
</note>

<dropdown title="Enable X-Pack basic security">
  **Condition**: Always shown for this insight.Set `xpack.security.enabled: true` in `elasticsearch.yml`, then restart the nodes.
</dropdown>


#### Background and impact

Impact: When X-pack security is not enabled, your clusters are vulnerable to hackers and ransomware.
X-Pack security provides role-based access control and many other security features. It is available for Versions 6.8 and 7.1 with all license types (Basic is FREE), but not in the open-source release.