Product Overview
Grafana is a widely used open-source observability and visualization platform. It enables organizations to build dashboards from multiple data sources and manage access through role-based permissions. Grafana is frequently deployed with elevated visibility into infrastructure metrics, application performance data, logs, and operational telemetry.
Because Grafana often has deep insight into production and security-relevant systems, any weakness in access control or backend service stability can result in serious confidentiality, integrity, and availability risks. Compromise or disruption of Grafana can directly affect incident detection, operational awareness, and compliance monitoring.
The vulnerabilities described below affect Grafana dashboards and backend services and require immediate patching.
Official Upgrade and Patch Information
To remediate the vulnerabilities listed in this advisory, organizations must upgrade to a Grafana release that includes the official security fixes.
Use the following official links only:
- Official Grafana Download Page (patched versions):
👉 https://grafana.com/grafana/download - Official Grafana Upgrade Documentation:
👉 https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/setup-grafana/upgrade-grafana/
CVE Summary Table
| CVE ID | CVSS Score | Severity | Vulnerability Type | Exploitability | Exploit Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-21721 | 8.1 | High | Privilege Escalation | Remote (Authenticated) | No public PoC |
| CVE-2026-21720 | 7.5 | High | Goroutine Leak → Denial of Service | Remote | No public PoC |
CVE-2026-21721 – Cross-Dashboard Privilege Escalation
Basic Information
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| CVE Name | Grafana Cross-Dashboard Permission Abuse |
| Affected Component | Dashboard access control logic |
| Attack Type | Privilege Escalation |
| Authentication Required | Yes (Low-privileged user) |
| Impact | Unauthorized access to restricted dashboards |
| Patch Status | Official patch available |
What Is the Issue?
This vulnerability exists due to improper permission validation when Grafana dashboards reference shared objects such as panels, queries, or variables from other dashboards.
Grafana supports component reuse to improve efficiency. However, while access checks are enforced on the parent dashboard, the same validation is not consistently applied to referenced dashboard objects. This creates a gap where access controls can be bypassed indirectly.
How Could This Be Exploited?
An attacker with read-only or limited dashboard access could:
- Identify a dashboard they are authorized to view
- Craft or modify requests to reference panels or variables from restricted dashboards
- Trigger Grafana to resolve those shared objects without re-checking permissions
- Gain visibility into sensitive metrics, queries, or embedded data
This attack does not require administrator privileges, only a basic authenticated account.
Practical Attack Scenario
- A junior engineer has access only to operational dashboards
- A restricted dashboard contains security metrics or production secrets
- The attacker embeds a panel reference from the restricted dashboard into an allowed one
- Grafana renders the data without enforcing access rules
- Confidential monitoring data is exposed
Impact
- Unauthorized visibility into restricted dashboards
- Exposure of sensitive infrastructure and security metrics
- Potential regulatory or compliance violations
- Increased risk of lateral movement within the environment
MITRE ATT&CK Mapping
| Technique | Description |
|---|---|
| TA0004 – Privilege Escalation | Abuse of access control logic |
| T1068 | Exploitation for privilege escalation |
| T1078 | Abuse of valid accounts |
Detection & Monitoring
Indicators of Abuse
- Dashboard API calls referencing dashboards the user should not normally access
- Unusual panel or variable resolution activity
- Users accessing dashboards outside their defined role scope
Log Sources to Monitor
- Grafana application logs
- Grafana audit logs
- Reverse proxy or API gateway logs
Detection Rules
- Alert when a dashboard request references multiple dashboard IDs
- Flag requests where resolved dashboard ownership differs from the user’s role
- Monitor repeated failed permission checks followed by successful dashboard renders
Official Patch
Grafana has released an official security patch that:
- Enforces permission checks on all referenced dashboard objects
- Prevents cross-dashboard object reuse without explicit authorization
👉 Apply the official Grafana security patch using the Grafana download and upgrade links provided above.
CVE-2026-21720 – Goroutine Leak Leading to Denial of Service
Basic Information
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| CVE Name | Grafana Goroutine Leak DoS |
| Affected Component | Backend request handling |
| Attack Type | Denial of Service |
| Authentication Required | No |
| Impact | Memory exhaustion and service crash |
| Patch Status | Official patch available |
What Is the Issue?
Grafana’s backend relies on Go routines to handle concurrent requests. Under certain error conditions, these goroutines are not properly terminated, causing them to remain active even after request processing ends.
Over time—or through intentional abuse—this results in uncontrolled memory growth, CPU saturation, and eventual service instability or failure.
How Could This Be Exploited?
An attacker can:
- Send repeated malformed or edge-case requests to vulnerable endpoints
- Trigger error paths that spawn goroutines without cleanup
- Accumulate thousands of orphaned goroutines
- Exhaust system resources and crash Grafana
This attack can be executed remotely and without authentication.
Practical Attack Scenario
- Grafana is exposed to the internet
- An attacker scripts repeated API calls with malformed parameters
- Each request leaves a goroutine running
- Memory usage steadily increases
- Grafana becomes unresponsive or crashes
Impact
- Complete monitoring service outage
- Loss of visibility during security incidents
- Alerting failures
- Potential cascading failures in dependent systems
MITRE ATT&CK Mapping
| Technique | Description |
|---|---|
| TA0040 – Impact | Service disruption |
| T1499 | Endpoint Denial of Service |
| T1498 | Resource exhaustion |
Detection & Monitoring
Indicators of Attack
- Rapid and sustained increase in memory usage
- Unusually high goroutine counts
- Repeated similar API requests
- Frequent Grafana restarts or crashes
Log Sources to Monitor
- Grafana application logs
- System memory and CPU metrics
- Container or Kubernetes logs (if applicable)
Detection Rules
- Alert on abnormal goroutine growth trends
- Trigger alerts when memory usage rises without traffic increases
- Detect repeated malformed API requests from the same source
Official Patch
Grafana’s official fix:
- Properly terminates goroutines on error paths
- Introduces safeguards to prevent uncontrolled resource allocation
- Improves backend resource cleanup logic
👉 Upgrade to the latest Grafana release using the official Grafana download and upgrade links provided above.
Final Takeaway
- Apply all official Grafana security patches immediately
- Restrict public exposure of Grafana APIs
- Enable and actively monitor audit logging
- Review and harden dashboard permission models
- Perform regular access reviews for shared dashboards
