CVE-2026-102412 in Kibana
Summary
by MITRE • 10/06/2026
Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) in Kibana can lead to sensitive information disclosure via Accessing Functionality Not Properly Constrained by ACLs (CAPEC-1). An authenticated Kibana user with limited Fleet management privileges could access sensitive credential material that should be restricted to users with Fleet settings administrative access. Successful exploitation could allow an attacker to obtain private cryptographic key material configured for Fleet Server host connections, potentially enabling impersonation of trusted Fleet infrastructure components in deployments where those keys are actively used.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/07/2026
The vulnerability identified as CWE-863 represents a critical failure in the authorization logic within Kibana’s Fleet management subsystem. This flaw stems from an improper implementation of Access Control Lists, allowing authenticated users with restricted privileges to bypass intended security boundaries. Specifically, the application fails to adequately constrain access to certain API endpoints or internal functions that handle sensitive configuration data. Instead of strictly enforcing role-based permissions where only administrators with full Fleet settings access can view or modify critical infrastructure configurations, the system permits lower-privileged users to retrieve this information. This misalignment between user roles and resource accessibility creates a significant security gap that undermines the principle of least privilege fundamental to secure software architecture.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to the nature of the data exposed. The flaw allows an attacker with limited Fleet management privileges to access sensitive credential material, most notably private cryptographic key material used for securing connections between Kibana and Fleet Server hosts. These keys are essential for establishing trust within the Elastic Stack infrastructure, facilitating secure communication channels that protect telemetry data and control signals from interception or tampering. By obtaining these private keys, an attacker gains the ability to decrypt traffic intended for legitimate components or potentially forge valid authentication tokens. This capability effectively neutralizes the encryption protections in place, exposing the entire deployment to man-in-the-middle attacks and unauthorized access to sensitive operational metrics and logs stored within the Elastic ecosystem.
From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CAPEC-1, which describes accessing functionality not properly constrained by Access Control Lists. The exploitation path is straightforward for any authenticated user who has been granted basic Fleet management rights but lacks administrative privileges. Once an attacker identifies their elevated access level through enumeration or social engineering, they can directly query the vulnerable endpoints to extract cryptographic secrets. This scenario highlights a common pitfall in complex enterprise applications where permission checks are inconsistently applied across different modules of the same system. The ability to impersonate trusted Fleet infrastructure components further escalates the risk, as it enables persistent backdoor access and potential lateral movement within the monitored environment, compromising data integrity and confidentiality at scale.
Mitigation strategies must focus on immediate remediation through software updates and rigorous configuration audits. Organizations running affected versions of Kibana should apply the latest security patches provided by Elastic to close this authorization gap. Until patching is feasible, administrators should review user roles within Fleet management, ensuring that no non-administrative users are granted access to sensitive credential stores or API endpoints related to key management. Implementing strict network segmentation and monitoring for anomalous data exfiltration patterns can also help detect potential exploitation attempts. Furthermore, rotating all compromised private keys immediately upon confirmation of the vulnerability is critical to restoring trust in the infrastructure’s cryptographic foundations and preventing long-term unauthorized access by adversaries who may have already harvested these secrets.