*Published: June 2024*  
*By Security Enthusiast*  

Introduction

In mid-2022, a disputed CVE — CVE-2022-32276 — emerged, lighting up discussions among Grafana users and security researchers. It claims that in Grafana 8.4.3, anyone can access certain dashboards without logging in, just by visiting a special URL. But is this really a vulnerability? Let’s dig deep, break it down simply, and offer code examples so you can see what’s going on.

What’s the Issue About?

CVE-2022-32276 says:  
> *“Grafana 8.4.3 allows unauthenticated access via (for example) a /dashboard/snapshot/*?orgId= URI.”*  
> — CVE Details

In plain English, this means anyone can view certain dashboard snapshots just by visiting a specific web address, without any username or password.

But—big *but*—the Grafana team disputes this claim, calling it a UI/UX bug instead of a real security vulnerability. See the full discussion in Grafana’s GitHub Issue #49427.

Understanding Grafana Dashboard Snapshots

Before diving into exploit details, let’s clear up what a “snapshot” is in Grafana. A dashboard snapshot is a shareable link or embed code that lets *anyone with the link* see a static version of a dashboard, even if they don’t have a Grafana account. This is by design—for easy sharing.

Normal intended flow:  
1. Admin or user creates a snapshot and gets a secret URL (something like https://grafana.example.com/dashboard/snapshot/abc123).

So, when a snapshot is public by design, is it really a vulnerability for anyone to open it? That’s the central dispute here.

The Alleged Exploit: Accessing Snapshots via orgId=

In some cases, adding ?orgId= to a snapshot URL could allow view access in multi-organization Grafana setups (organizations are separate groupings of dashboards and users).

https://grafana.example.com/dashboard/snapshot/abc123?orgId=

Visit that in your browser—you *might* see the snapshot, even if you’re not logged in.

Simple Python Exploit PoC

Here’s a Python snippet that tries to fetch a snapshot without login. Adjust the SNAPSHOT_URL accordingly.

import requests

SNAPSHOT_URL = "https://grafana.example.com/dashboard/snapshot/abc123?orgId="

resp = requests.get(SNAPSHOT_URL)
if resp.status_code == 200:
    print("Snapshot Accessible!")
    print(resp.text[:500]) # Preview first 500 characters
else:
    print("Access Denied:", resp.status_code)

Why the Dispute?

- Security researchers: Say this is unauthenticated access to sensitive data, so it should be CVSS-rated and patched.
- Grafana maintainers: Say this is the *intent* of snapshot functionality (“anyone with the link can see the data”).  
 They argue that combining orgId= into the URL may be awkward UI, but not a security hole since snapshots are public by design.

Key Quote from the vendor:  
> *“We do not consider this a security vulnerability; the snapshot feature is explicitly designed to allow unauthenticated sharing.”*  
> — Grafana Issue #49427 Comment

What’s the risk?

If you ever create a snapshot with sensitive data, *anyone* with the link, or anyone who can guess it, will get access.

Best Practice:  
Never create snapshots of sensitive dashboards, unless you’re OK with the world seeing them.

Mitigation

No patch is likely coming for this “issue,” since Grafana says the behavior matches the feature’s intent.

If you’re worried:

References

- Official CVE Record: CVE-2022-32276
- Grafana GitHub Issue #49427 (Vulnerability or UI bug?)
- Grafana: Sharing dashboards with snapshot links
- NVD Vulnerability Detail: CVE-2022-32276

Conclusion

CVE-2022-32276 highlights confusion between convenience and security: Grafana snapshots *are meant* for public sharing, and authentication is skipped on purpose. The vendor sees this as a UI design quirk—not a vulnerability.

Bottom line:  
If your Grafana has dashboards with private data, never snapshot them. Control access the right way, and don’t depend on “secret” URLs to keep secrets.


*Stay safe & mindful when sharing your dashboards!* 🚦

Timeline

Published on: 06/17/2022 13:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 06/28/2022 15:13:00 UTC