Grafana Operator: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory
CVE-2026-11769 is a high-severity improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory vulnerability in Grafana Operator from Grafana, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected Grafana Operator versions: 5.23.0 and earlier. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.36% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Check which version of Grafana Operator you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
- Read the advisory on grafana.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grafana | Grafana Operator | 5.23.0 and earlier | Not stated |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 4.0 | 6.4 | Medium | CNA (grafana.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 8.8 | High | NVD |
Official description
We have released version 5.24.0 of the Grafana Operator. This patch includes a MEDIUM severity security fix for a path traversal/privilege escalation vulnerability in the Grafana Operator. ### Summary The Grafana Operator supports loading dashboards & library panels using the jsonnet data templating language. The jsonnet expression is evaluated in the context of the operator manager pod. ### Impact It is possible for a malicious user who can create Dashboard or LibraryPanel resources for a Grafana instance to obtain the Kubernetes service account token of the Grafana Operator manager. ### Affected versions All Grafana Operator versions <= 5.23 ### Solutions and mitigations All installations should be upgraded as soon as possible. As a workaround, the following ValidatingAdmissionPolicy prevent the creation or modification of jsonnet based resources: apiVersion: admissionregistration.k8s.io/v1 kind: ValidatingAdmissionPolicy metadata: name: "prevent-jsonnet-dashboards" spec: failurePolicy: Fail matchConstraints: resourceRules: - apiGroups: ["grafana.integreatly.org"] apiVersions: ["v1beta1"] operations: ["CREATE", "UPDATE"] resources: ["grafanadashboards", "grafanalibrarypanels"] validations: - expression: "!has(object.spec.jsonnetLib)" --- apiVersion: admissionregistration.k8s.io/v1 kind: ValidatingAdmissionPolicyBinding metadata: name: "prevent-jsonnet-dashboards-clusterwide" spec: policyName: "prevent-jsonnet-dashboards" validationActions: [Deny] ### Acknowledgement We would like to thank Artem Cherezov for responsibly disclosing the vulnerability.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory
The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
- Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
- Use an application firewall that can detect attacks against this weakness. It can be beneficial in cases in which the code cannot be fixed (because it is controlled by a third party), as an emergency prevention measure while more comprehensive software assurance measures are applied, or to provide defense in depth.
More Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory vulnerabilities (CWE-22)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Advisories
Recent Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory vulnerabilities
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.6 High severity
- 7.1 High severity
- 8.1 High severity
- 8.6 High severity
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