CVE-2026-21721
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes an authorization bypass in Grafana's dashboard permissions API where permission checks only validate the action permission without verifying the target dashboard scope. Users with permission management rights on any dashboard can read and modify permissions on all dashboards, leading to organization-internal privilege escalation.
💻 Affected Systems
- Grafana
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An authenticated user with dashboard permission management rights could gain administrative control over all dashboards, potentially accessing sensitive data or disrupting dashboard functionality across the organization.
Likely Case
Internal users with legitimate dashboard management permissions could inadvertently or intentionally modify permissions on dashboards they shouldn't have access to, leading to data exposure or unauthorized changes.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and monitoring, impact would be limited to authorized users making unauthorized permission changes that could be detected and rolled back.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access and dashboard permission management rights. The vulnerability is straightforward to exploit once an attacker has the required permissions.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Check Grafana security advisory for specific fixed versions
Vendor Advisory: https://grafana.com/security/security-advisories/CVE-2026-21721
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Review the Grafana security advisory for affected versions
2. Upgrade to the patched version specified in the advisory
3. Restart Grafana service
4. Verify the fix by testing dashboard permission scope validation
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict Dashboard Permission Management
allTemporarily limit which users have dashboard permission management rights to only essential administrators
Review and modify Grafana role assignments to minimize users with dashboard permissions management capabilities
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls to limit dashboard permission management to only essential administrators
- Enable detailed audit logging for all dashboard permission changes and monitor for suspicious activity
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test if a user with dashboard permission management rights on one dashboard can modify permissions on another dashboard they shouldn't have access toCheck Version:
grafana-server -vVerify Fix Applied:
After patching, verify that dashboard permission changes now properly validate the target dashboard scope📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual dashboard permission modification patterns
- Permission changes on dashboards by users not assigned to those dashboards
- Multiple permission changes in short timeframes
Network Indicators:
- API calls to dashboard permissions endpoints with unexpected dashboard IDs
SIEM Query:
source="grafana" AND (event="dashboard_permissions_changed" OR api_endpoint="/api/dashboards/*/permissions") | stats count by user, dashboard_id