CVE-2023-2183 in Grafana
Summary
by MITRE • 06/06/2023
Grafana is an open-source platform for monitoring and observability.
The option to send a test alert is not available from the user panel UI for users having the Viewer role. It is still possible for a user with the Viewer role to send a test alert using the API as the API does not check access to this function.
This might enable malicious users to abuse the functionality by sending multiple alert messages to e-mail and Slack, spamming users, prepare Phishing attack or block SMTP server.
Users may upgrade to version 9.5.3, 9.4.12, 9.3.15, 9.2.19 and 8.5.26 to receive a fix.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/05/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-2183 affects Grafana, a widely-used open-source platform for monitoring and observability that enables organizations to visualize and analyze their system metrics through dashboards and alerting mechanisms. This security flaw represents a critical access control bypass that undermines the platform's permission model, specifically targeting the privilege escalation capabilities of users with the Viewer role. The issue stems from a discrepancy between the user interface and the underlying API implementation, where the graphical interface properly restricts functionality while the application programming interface fails to enforce the same access controls.
The technical flaw manifests as an inconsistent access control implementation where the Viewer role, which should be limited to read-only operations, can bypass UI restrictions through direct API calls to execute test alert functionality. This represents a classic security misconfiguration pattern that falls under CWE-284, which addresses improper access control vulnerabilities. The API endpoint responsible for sending test alerts does not perform adequate authorization checks, allowing any authenticated user with Viewer privileges to invoke this functionality despite the user interface explicitly preventing such actions. This inconsistency creates an attack surface that malicious actors can exploit to perform unauthorized operations that should be restricted to users with higher privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, creating potential for significant disruption and abuse within organizational environments. Malicious users can leverage this vulnerability to flood users with excessive email notifications and Slack messages, effectively conducting spam attacks that can overwhelm communication channels and potentially disrupt business operations. The vulnerability also enables more sophisticated attack vectors including phishing preparation campaigns where attackers can use the alert system to create convincing social engineering scenarios. Additionally, the excessive alert generation can lead to SMTP server resource exhaustion, potentially causing legitimate email communications to be blocked or delayed, which represents a denial of service condition that affects business continuity.
Organizations utilizing Grafana must implement immediate mitigations while planning for the necessary software upgrades to address this vulnerability. The recommended approach involves upgrading to the patched versions 9.5.3, 9.4.12, 9.3.15, 9.2.19, and 8.5.26 as specified by the vendor. These releases contain the necessary access control fixes that ensure API endpoints properly validate user permissions before executing sensitive operations. Security administrators should also consider implementing additional monitoring controls to detect unusual alerting patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining consistent security controls across all application interfaces, as highlighted in the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation techniques where inconsistent access controls provide attackers with pathways to expand their operational capabilities. Organizations should conduct thorough security assessments to identify similar inconsistencies in other API endpoints and ensure comprehensive access control enforcement throughout their Grafana deployments.