CVE-2026-72681 in Kibana
Summary
by MITRE • 08/13/2026
Kibana Agent Builder does not correctly verify that the requesting user holds the privileges required by a separate Kibana feature before it creates and runs a tool that invokes that feature's functionality. This allows privilege escalation and could lead to disclosure of sensitive information that the user is not authorized to read.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/13/2026
This vulnerability exists within the Kibana Agent Builder component where insufficient access control validation occurs during tool creation and execution processes. The flaw stems from improper privilege verification mechanisms that fail to confirm whether the requesting user possesses the necessary authorization levels required by the targeted Kibana feature before executing privileged operations. This represents a classic privilege escalation vector that operates under the weakness category defined by CWE-284 Access Control. The vulnerability manifests when an authenticated user with limited privileges attempts to create and execute tools that invoke functionality requiring higher-level permissions, bypassing the intended security boundaries.
The technical implementation flaw resides in the lack of proper authorization checks within the Agent Builder's workflow. When a user submits a tool creation request, the system should validate against the target feature's permission requirements before proceeding with execution. However, this validation step is either missing or inadequately implemented, allowing users to craft and execute tools that leverage features they would normally be restricted from accessing directly. This misconfiguration creates an attack surface where malicious actors can escalate their privileges through legitimate system interfaces rather than exploiting direct system vulnerabilities.
Operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass potential data disclosure and unauthorized access to sensitive information within the Kibana environment. An attacker could leverage this weakness to access restricted dashboards, logs, or configuration data that should only be available to administrators or users with specific roles. The vulnerability particularly affects organizations using Kibana for security monitoring and log analysis where sensitive operational data might be exposed through unauthorized tool execution. From an ATT&CK perspective, this maps to privilege escalation techniques under the T1068 privilege escalation tactic and potentially information gathering activities under T1083 file and directory discovery.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing comprehensive access control validation throughout the Agent Builder workflow. Organizations must ensure that all tool creation processes include mandatory authorization checks against target features before execution, with proper logging of access attempts and privilege escalations. The system should enforce strict role-based access controls where users can only create tools that operate within their authorized permission boundaries. Additionally, implementing principle of least privilege configurations for Agent Builder functionality can significantly reduce the attack surface, while regular security audits should monitor for unauthorized privilege escalation attempts. Security teams should also consider deploying network segmentation and monitoring solutions to detect anomalous tool execution patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts.