Grafana is a powerful open-source platform for monitoring and observability, allowing users to create beautiful and interactive visualizations of their data. However, a recently discovered vulnerability, identified as CVE-2023-2801, has been found in Grafana's implementation of public dashboards and mixed queries. This vulnerability can lead to the crashing of a Grafana instance, potentially rendering the platform unusable.

In this post, we will take a closer look at the CVE-2023-2801 vulnerability, discussing the exploit details, sharing code snippets, and providing links to original references. Above all, we will show you how to mitigate this issue by upgrading your Grafana instance to version 9.4.12 or 9.5.3.

Exploit Details

The CVE-2023-2801 vulnerability originates from the use of mixed queries in public dashboards. Mixed queries enable users to query multiple distinct data sources in a single request. Although this feature is quite handy, it also carries the potential of crashing a Grafana instance if handled improperly. As of now, public dashboards are the only feature known to use mixed queries, but it's crucial to keep in mind that unauthorized individuals can also exploit this vulnerability by calling the query API directly.

Here's a code snippet that showcases the use of mixed queries

{
  "panelId": 1,
  "dashboardId": 2,
  "range": {
    "from": "2022-01-10T00:00:00Z",
    "to": "2022-01-12T23:59:59Z"
  },
  "rangeRaw": {
    "from": "now-7d",
    "to": "now"
  },
  "interval": "5m",
  "targets": [
    {
      "alias": "Target_1",
      "datasource": "DataSource_1",
      "target": "some_query_1"
    },
    {
      "alias": "Target_2",
      "datasource": "@/DataSource_2",
      "target": "some_query_2"
    }
  ],
  "format": "json",
  "maxDataPoints": 960,
  "path": "/api/datasources/proxy"
}

By abusing the path parameter or the datasource field, an attacker can potentially crash the Grafana instance. For an in-depth analysis of the vulnerability, refer to the original disclosure (link provided below).

Mitigation

To address the CVE-2023-2801 vulnerability, users are advised to upgrade their Grafana instances to version 9.4.12 or 9.5.3. These newer versions include a fix that addresses this specific issue. To upgrade, follow the official upgrade guide (link provided below).

- Original Vulnerability Disclosure: https://www.example.com/cve-2023-2801-disclosure
- Grafana Documentation: https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/
- Official Upgrade Guide: https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/installation/upgrading/

Conclusion

With the increasing reliance on monitoring and observability platforms like Grafana, timely detection and mitigation of vulnerabilities like CVE-2023-2801 are crucial. By upgrading to the latest available version that contains the fix, you can defend your Grafana instance against this potential threat and ensure that your platform remains stable and operational. Stay informed on security issues and always prioritize keeping your software up-to-date.

Timeline

Published on: 06/06/2023 19:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 06/13/2023 16:33:00 UTC