CVE-2021-41244 : Exploit Details and Defense Strategies
Learn about CVE-2021-41244 affecting Grafana versions 8.0 to 8.2.3. Discover the impact, technical details, and mitigation steps for this critical vulnerability in Grafana instances.
Grafana is an open-source platform for monitoring and observability. In affected versions when the fine-grained access control beta feature is enabled and there is more than one organization in the Grafana instance, admins can access users from other organizations. All installations between v8.0 and v8.2.3 should be upgraded as soon as possible or disable the fine-grained access control.
Understanding CVE-2021-41244
This CVE affects Grafana versions with a security issue related to cross organization admin control.
What is CVE-2021-41244?
Grafana versions between 8.0 and 8.2.3 allow organization admins to access users from other organizations when the fine-grained access control feature is enabled, compromising user privacy and security.
The Impact of CVE-2021-41244
This vulnerability has a base score of 9.1 (Critical) with high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Admins can list, add, remove, and update users' roles in organizations where they are not admins.
Technical Details of CVE-2021-41244
This section covers the technical aspects of the vulnerability.
Vulnerability Description
Enabled fine-grained access control in affected Grafana versions allows organization admins to manipulate user roles across organizations.
Affected Systems and Versions
- Product: Grafana
- Vendor: Grafana
- Versions: >= 8.0.0, < 8.2.4
Exploitation Mechanism
- Attack Complexity: Low
- Attack Vector: Network
- Privileges Required: High
- Scope: Changed
- User Interaction: None
Mitigation and Prevention
Follow these steps to mitigate the vulnerability in Grafana instances.
Immediate Steps to Take
- Upgrade Grafana installations to versions above 8.2.4 or apply security fixes.
- Disable the fine-grained access control feature when upgrading is not immediately possible.
Long-Term Security Practices
- Regularly update Grafana to the latest secure versions.
- Continuously monitor security advisories and implement necessary patches promptly.
- Educate administrators on best security practices.
Patching and Updates
- Apply software updates and security patches as soon as they are released.