CVE-2026-72660 in Kibana
Summary
by MITRE • 08/13/2026
Uncaught Exception (CWE-248), resulting from Improper Input Validation (CWE-20), in Kibana can lead to denial of service via Input Data Manipulation (CAPEC-153). An authenticated user holding only low-privileged access can cause an internal error condition in Kibana by supplying specially crafted data. The resulting error is raised on an execution path so it propagates as an uncaught exception and terminates the Kibana process. Kibana is unavailable to all users until the service is restarted, and the condition can be triggered repeatedly.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/13/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical security flaw in the Kibana logging and visualization platform that stems from improper input validation mechanisms within its data processing pipeline. The issue manifests as an uncaught exception (cwe-248) that occurs when Kibana encounters malformed or specially crafted input data, which directly correlates to the improper input validation weakness described in cwe-20. The vulnerability exists in the application's handling of user-supplied data during query execution and data manipulation operations, creating a pathway for denial of service attacks through what is classified as input data manipulation according to capec-153. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious payloads that trigger internal error conditions within Kibana's processing engine.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires only low-privileged authentication access, making it particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged by users who do not possess administrative privileges or elevated permissions within the system. When an authenticated user submits specially crafted input data through Kibana's interface or API endpoints, the application fails to properly validate the input before processing it, resulting in an exception that is not handled gracefully within the codebase. This unhandled exception propagates up through the execution stack and ultimately terminates the entire Kibana process, causing a complete service outage for all users of the platform. The vulnerability's design flaw lies in the absence of proper error handling mechanisms that should catch and manage such exceptional conditions before they result in application termination.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption as it creates a persistent denial of service condition that can be repeatedly triggered by an attacker. Once the Kibana process terminates due to the uncaught exception, all users lose access to the logging and analytics platform until system administrators manually restart the service. This repeated triggering capability means that attackers can maintain sustained disruption of services without requiring additional authentication attempts or complex attack vectors. The vulnerability affects the availability aspect of the CIA triad by compromising the system's ability to provide continuous service to legitimate users, while also potentially exposing underlying system information through error messages that may be generated during the exception handling process.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to patched versions of Kibana where this vulnerability has been addressed through proper input validation and exception handling mechanisms. The solution involves implementing comprehensive input sanitization procedures that validate all user-supplied data against expected formats and constraints before processing, which aligns with defensive programming practices recommended in both cwe and industry security frameworks. Additionally, organizations should deploy application-level firewalls or web application firewalls to monitor and filter suspicious input patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. System administrators should also configure proper logging and monitoring for uncaught exceptions to detect exploitation attempts and maintain audit trails for forensic analysis. The attack surface can be reduced by implementing principle of least privilege access controls and disabling unnecessary features or API endpoints that may expose vulnerable processing paths. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of robust error handling in security-sensitive applications and serves as a reminder of how seemingly minor input validation failures can result in significant operational disruptions according to established attack patterns documented in the mitre att&ck framework.