CVE-2018-3819 in Kibana
Summary
by MITRE
The fix in Kibana for ESA-2017-23 was incomplete. With X-Pack security enabled, Kibana versions before 6.1.3 and 5.6.7 have an open redirect vulnerability on the login page that would enable an attacker to craft a link that redirects to an arbitrary website.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/18/2020
The vulnerability described in CVE-2018-3819 represents a critical security flaw in the Kibana platform that emerged from an incomplete remediation effort for a previously identified issue. This vulnerability specifically affects Kibana installations with X-Pack security enabled, which is a commercial security plugin that provides authentication and authorization capabilities for Elasticsearch and Kibana. The flaw exists in the login page redirect functionality and demonstrates how inadequate patching can leave systems exposed to sophisticated attack vectors that leverage user trust and navigation patterns.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of redirect parameters within the authentication flow. When X-Pack security is enabled, Kibana's login page accepts a redirect parameter that should normally direct users to a legitimate location after successful authentication. However, the incomplete fix failed to properly sanitize or validate the input values, allowing attackers to manipulate the redirect URL to point to malicious domains. This creates an open redirect vulnerability that operates at the application layer and can be exploited through crafted web links that appear legitimate to users. The flaw affects specific version ranges including Kibana 5.6.7 and earlier versions, as well as 6.1.2 and earlier versions, indicating that the vulnerability persisted across multiple release branches and was not adequately addressed in the initial remediation effort.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables attackers to perform phishing attacks and social engineering campaigns that can compromise user credentials and system access. An attacker can craft malicious links that appear to be legitimate Kibana login pages but redirect users to attacker-controlled domains where credentials can be harvested. This opens the door for credential theft, session hijacking, and potential lateral movement within networks where Kibana is deployed. The vulnerability directly violates security principles by allowing unauthorized redirection, which represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege and proper input validation. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-601 category for Open Redirect, which is classified as a high-severity weakness that can be leveraged for various attack vectors including credential theft and malicious redirection.
Organizations running affected Kibana versions should immediately implement the official patches released by Elastic, specifically upgrading to Kibana 5.6.7 or 6.1.3 and later versions. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing to ensure that the updated redirect validation functions properly and does not introduce regression issues in legitimate authentication flows. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect suspicious redirect patterns and anomalous authentication attempts that might indicate exploitation attempts. Security teams should also conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify any other systems that might be using vulnerable Kibana versions and ensure proper access controls are in place. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques such as credential access through phishing and social engineering, as well as initial access via malicious links, making it a critical target for defensive measures and incident response planning.
The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of thorough testing and validation of security patches, as well as the necessity of maintaining current security practices that include regular updates and comprehensive vulnerability management processes. Organizations should implement automated patch management systems to ensure timely deployment of security updates and establish monitoring protocols to detect exploitation attempts. The incident also underscores the need for robust input validation mechanisms and proper security code review processes to prevent similar issues in future development cycles. This vulnerability serves as a reminder that security patches must be thoroughly validated in production environments and that incomplete remediations can leave systems vulnerable to exploitation, particularly in high-value targets such as authentication systems that are critical to overall security posture.