CVE-2023-46671
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Kibana logs sensitive credentials like kibana_system user passwords, API keys, and end-user credentials when specific errors occur during Elasticsearch cluster interactions. It affects Kibana deployments that experience errors from unhealthy Elasticsearch clusters. The issue occurs infrequently but exposes high-value authentication data.
💻 Affected Systems
- Kibana
📦 What is this software?
Kibana by Elastic
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers gain access to Kibana logs containing credentials for kibana_system user, API keys, and end-user accounts, leading to complete compromise of Elastic Stack environment and potential data exfiltration.
Likely Case
Credentials exposed in logs could be harvested by attackers with log access, enabling unauthorized access to Kibana and Elasticsearch resources.
If Mitigated
With proper log access controls and monitoring, credential exposure would be detected and contained before exploitation.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires access to Kibana logs and specific error conditions to trigger credential logging.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Kibana 8.11.1 or 7.17.15
Vendor Advisory: https://discuss.elastic.co/t/8-11-1-7-17-15-security-update-esa-2023-25/347149
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Backup Kibana configuration and data. 2. Download Kibana 8.11.1 or 7.17.15 from Elastic website. 3. Stop Kibana service. 4. Install updated version. 5. Restart Kibana service. 6. Verify successful startup and functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict Log Access
linuxLimit access to Kibana log files to authorized administrators only
chmod 600 /var/log/kibana/*.log
chown kibana:kibana /var/log/kibana/*.log
Monitor Logs for Credentials
allImplement log monitoring to detect credential exposure patterns
grep -i 'password\|api_key\|credential' /var/log/kibana/kibana.log
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls on Kibana log directories and files
- Deploy log monitoring to detect and alert on credential exposure patterns
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Kibana version: if version is below 8.11.1 (for 8.x) or below 7.17.15 (for 7.x), system is vulnerableCheck Version:
kibana --versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm Kibana version is 8.11.1 or higher (8.x) or 7.17.15 or higher (7.x) and review logs for absence of credential exposure📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Log entries containing 'kibana_system' password
- API key strings in error messages
- User credential patterns in Kibana logs
Network Indicators:
- Unauthorized access attempts using credentials found in logs
SIEM Query:
source="kibana.log" AND ("password" OR "api_key" OR "credential")