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Full vulnerability report · 2023
CVE-2023-46671High confidence

Kibana Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File

Elastic · Kibana

8.0HighCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Patch only the product branches with a verified fix

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance. Verified remediation exists for at least one product or source, but 5 structured product or package states remain unresolved. Apply remediation only to the exact product branch confirmed by its source.

Fix availability varies by product
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityHighOperational priority:High, unchanged from published severity.unchanged

Evidence used

  • No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
  • EPSS is 0.66% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
  • Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
  • Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs Elastic Kibana and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: Within 30 daysRemediation target: Within 180 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Cross-source reconciliation

Remediation availability differs by product scope

Verified remediation exists for at least one product or source, but 5 structured product or package states remain unresolved. Apply remediation only to the exact product branch confirmed by its source.

Direct vendor intelligence

Authoritative vendor CSAF and VEX advisories

Structured product status and remediation from the issuing vendor. Product-state explanations are always visible; large lists can be searched or downloaded.

1 current
CVE-2023-46671 · CSAF 2.0 · revision 3 · finalRed Hat Product Securitykibana: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File (ESA-2023-25)
5 known affected

The vendor explicitly identifies these products as affected by this CVE.

  • openshift-logging/cluster-logging-rhel8-operator as a component of Logging Subsystem for Red Hat OpenShift
  • openshift-logging/kibana6-rhel8 as a component of Logging Subsystem for Red Hat OpenShift
  • kibana as a component of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.11
  • kibana.src as a component of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.11
  • openshift3/ose-logging-kibana5 as a component of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.11
Summary
A flaw was found in Kibana, where exposure of sensitive information in log files may occur. In some uncommon conditions, if error messages are returned, the log may contain account credentials for the kibana_system 64 user, API Keys, and credentials of Kibana end-users.
Remediation
Fix deferred
Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2023-50862

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

ENISA has published the identifier mapping but no EUVD description has been stored yet.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
Not supplied in the stored EUVD record
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionPatch only the product branches with a verified fix

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance. Verified remediation exists for at least one product or source, but 5 structured product or package states remain unresolved. Apply remediation only to the exact product branch confirmed by its source.

Fix availability varies by product
01

What, why and how

An issue was discovered by Elastic whereby sensitive information may be recorded in Kibana logs in the event of an error. Elastic has released Kibana 8.11.1 which resolves this issue. The error message recorded in the log may contain account credentials for the kibana_system user, API Keys, and credentials of Kibana end-users. The issue occurs infrequently, only if an error is returned from an Elasticsearch cluster, in cases where there is user interaction and an unhealthy cluster (for example, when returning circuit breaker or no shard exceptions).

What

An issue was discovered by Elastic whereby sensitive information may be recorded in Kibana logs in the event of an error. Elastic has released Kibana 8.11.1 which resolves this issue. The error message recorded in the log may contain account credentials for the kibana_system user, API Keys, and credentials of Kibana end-users. The issue occurs infrequently, only if an error is returned from an Elasticsearch cluster, in cases where there is user interaction and an unhealthy cluster (for example, when returning circuit breaker or no shard exceptions).

Why

The product writes sensitive information to a log file.

How

An attacker operating through an adjacent network may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may obtain information outside the intended access boundary.

What

An issue was discovered by Elastic whereby sensitive information may be recorded in Kibana logs in the event of an error. Elastic has released Kibana 8.11.1 which resolves this issue. The error message recorded in the log may contain account credentials for the kibana_system user, API Keys, and credentials of Kibana end-users. The issue occurs infrequently, only if an error is returned from an Elasticsearch cluster, in cases where there is user interaction and an unhealthy cluster (for example, when returning circuit breaker or no shard exceptions).

Why

The product writes sensitive information to a log file.

How

An attacker operating through an adjacent network may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may obtain information outside the intended access boundary.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
an adjacent network → Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File → obtain information outside the intended access boundary
Attack surface
Adjacent
Privileges required
Low: a basic authenticated account is required
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
High: exploitation depends on specific conditions
Security boundary
Changed: exploitation can affect a different security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-532 ↗

CWE-532: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File. The product writes sensitive information to a log file.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVAdjacentAttack vector: The attacker must be on an adjacent or logically close network.ACHighAttack complexity: Successful exploitation depends on specific conditions outside the attacker's direct control.PRLowPrivileges required: The attacker needs basic user-level privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SChangedScope: The attack can affect a component governed by a different security authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
Stolen credentials, tokens and legitimate administration functions may provide continued access without deploying a large custom toolset.
CWE-532
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

BSI · German · WID-SEC-2023-2913Kibana: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Offenlegung von Informationen

Ein entfernter, authentisierter Angreifer kann eine Schwachstelle in Kibana ausnutzen, um Informationen offenzulegen.

Official advisory ↗
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20231220Security Bulletin 20 Dec 2023

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 20 Dec 2023, published on 20 December 2023. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2023-AVI-0937Multiples vulnérabilités dans Kibana et Logstash

De multiples vulnérabilités ont été découvertes dans Kibana et Logstash. Elles permettent à un attaquant de provoquer une atteinte à la confidentialité des données.

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2023-019795Elasticsearch B.V. の Kibana におけるログファイルからの情報漏えいに関する脆弱性

Elasticsearch B.V. の Kibana には、ログファイルからの情報漏えいに関する脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Fix availability varies by product
Affected
Fixed
An authoritative update reference is available, but the fixed version is not recorded in the structured CVE fields. Check the linked vendor advisory for the applicable release.
Action
Use the product-specific evidence above. Patch only products with a verified fixed release, and keep every affected or under-investigation state without a matching fix in the remediation queue.
Workaround
A mitigation or workaround reference is available from the source linked below; validate it against the affected product and version.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 13 Dec 2023 · Last source change 2 Aug 2024, 20:53 UTC · CWE-532 · Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2023-50862
Product sourceVendor CSAF · Red Hat Product Security
Remediation sourceVendor CSAF · Red Hat Product Security
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗

No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.

Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2023-46671 · cve.blacktree.nl