Description

Missing Authorization in Kibana Leading to Unauthorized Modification of Data / Missing Authorization (CWE-862) in Kibana can lead to unauthorized modification of data via Privilege Abuse (CAPEC-122). An authenticated user holding Security read-level access in a single Kibana space could trigger Entity Analytics migration operations that perform privileged writes across all Kibana spaces, regardless of that user's actual access scope.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "4.3",
  "pubDate": "2026-09-03T19:17:28.993Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-09-03T19:17:28.993Z",
  "executiveSummary": "This vulnerability involves a Missing Authorization flaw (CWE-862) within Kibana, enabling unauthorized data modification via privilege abuse (CAPEC-122).\nThe vulnerability manifests when an authenticated user possessing only read-level security access within a restricted Kibana space triggers Entity Analytics migration operations.\nDespite the user's limited scope, the application fails to enforce authorization checks, allowing the migration process to execute privileged write operations across all Kibana spaces.\nThe impact includes unauthorized data modification, loss of data integrity, and potential cross-space configuration tampering, effectively bypassing multi-tenancy access controls.\nThe exploit requires an authenticated user with minimal read privileges, posing a significant risk to organizations relying on Kibana space-based isolation to segregate sensitive data and configurations.\nThis flaw underscores a breakdown in authorization enforcement during internal backend administrative tasks, permitting low-privileged actors to perform actions reserved for highly privileged administrators.",
  "technicalDetails": "The root cause of this vulnerability lies in an insufficient authorization check during the execution of Entity Analytics migration tasks within the Kibana backend. The system fails to validate that the initiating user possesses the requisite administrative privileges for operations that impact global or cross-space state.\nUnder normal operating conditions, Kibana enforces strict boundary controls based on the assigned space, ensuring that a user with read-only permissions in Space A cannot modify resources or configurations in Space B. However, the migration logic for Entity Analytics fails to inherit or consult the existing security context of the authenticated session when interacting with internal API endpoints or underlying system indices.\nThe attack flow initiates when a malicious or compromised user with 'Security' read-level access specifically targets the migration-related API endpoints or triggers functionality that invokes the Entity Analytics migration routine. By sending a crafted request that initiates this migration, the user exploits the backend's assumption that the process is internal and authorized.\nThe application processes the migration request without re-validating the user's scope. Consequently, the backend service performs privileged writes to system indices. Because these operations are executed with a higher level of underlying system privilege, they ignore the intended security boundaries, resulting in unauthorized data modification across all Kibana spaces.\nThis behavior represents a classic case of privilege escalation (CAPEC-122). The lack of authorization logic ensures that the migration process runs with elevated system rights, which is then weaponized by the user's ability to trigger the process, effectively acting as an confused deputy.\nThe impact is not restricted to a single workspace; the exploit allows for global configuration changes or unauthorized data alteration across the entire Kibana environment. Post-exploitation, an attacker could alter security settings, manipulate analytic parameters, or corrupt workspace definitions, undermining the entire multi-tenant security architecture of the Kibana instance."
}