IRONSMITHINTEL
CRITICALCVSS9.8
|
Actively Exploited
|CISA KEV|CVE-2021-39226|Auth: none — unauthenticated|Reboot: required|Manual only

Grafana Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

Grafana contains an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows authenticated and unauthenticated users to view and delete all snapshot data, potentially resulting in complete snapshot data loss.

Published Oct 5, 2021 · Updated May 16, 2026
Why patchRisk explained in plain English
Worst-case scenarioIf unpatched

A remote attacker, without authentication, can achieve full data confidentiality loss, arbitrary modification of data, complete denial of service or system unavailability. Federal agencies are required to remediate by 2022-09-15 under CISA BOD 22-01.

How the attack worksNo clicks needed

This is a Improper Authentication (CWE-287) vulnerability in Grafana Labs Grafana. Grafana is an open source data visualization platform. In affected versions unauthenticated and authenticated users are able to view the snapshot with the lowest database key by accessing the literal paths: /dashboard/snapshot/:key, or /api/snapshots/:key. If the snapshot "public_mode" configuration setting is set to true (vs default of false), unauthenticated users are able to delete the snapshot with the lowest database key by accessing the literal path: /api/snapshots-delete/:deleteKey. Regardless of the snapshot "public_mode" setting, authenticated users are able to delete the snapshot with the lowest database key by accessing the literal paths: /api/snapshots/:key, or /api/snapshots-delete/:deleteKey. The combination of deletion and viewing enables a complete walk through all snapshot data while resulting in complete snapshot data loss. This issue has been resolved in versions 8.1.6 and 7.5.11. If for some reason you cannot upgrade you can use a reverse proxy or similar to block access to the literal paths: /api/snapshots/:key, /api/snapshots-delete/:deleteKey, /dashboard/snapshot/:key, and /api/snapshots/:key. They have no normal function and can be disabled without side effects. Exploitation requires remote network access, low attack complexity, no authentication required, and no user interaction required.

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Phishing link

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Malicious file

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Server compromised

Am I affected?Quick check

Probably yes if any of these apply:

IT Security
Running grafana: v < 7.5.11, 8.0.0 ≤ v < 8.1.6; fedora: 34, 35
Real-world incidentsWhat we've seen

Active exploitation documented in the wild. Threat-research write-up: https://github.com/grafana/grafana/security/advisories/GHSA-69j6-29vr-p3j9

How to patch

Manual remediation steps

Apply the Vendor Patch

This vulnerability is in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog — apply the vendor's security update as soon as possible.

CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

References

    1
    Vendor advisory: https://grafana.com/blog/2021/10/05/grafana-7.5.11-and-8.1.6-released-with-critical-security-fix/
    1
    NVD entry: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-39226
    1
    CISA KEV: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-39226
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