BlackTreeCVE Intelligence
← Back to the CVE catalogue
Full vulnerability report · 2026
CVE-2026-72668High confidence

Unintended Proxy or Intermediary ('Confused Deputy') in Kibana Leading to Privilege Escalation

Elastic · Kibana

7.3HighCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Within 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Fix not verified
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 0.18% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
  • 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. Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
  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.

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-2026-87792

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

Unintended Proxy or Intermediary ('Confused Deputy') (CWE-441) in Kibana Agent Builder can lead to privilege escalation. A non-administrative user able to edit a shared agent could cause privileged operations to be carried out under the identity of a higher-privileged user who subsequently interacts with that agent. Where the same user can also author workflows, this can extend to full administrative control of Kibana and of the Elasticsearch cluster.

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
7.3 · CVSS 3.1
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionWithin 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Fix not verified
01

What, why and how

Unintended Proxy or Intermediary ('Confused Deputy') (CWE-441) in Kibana Agent Builder can lead to privilege escalation. A non-administrative user able to edit a shared agent could cause privileged operations to be carried out under the identity of a higher-privileged user who subsequently interacts with that agent. Where the same user can also author workflows, this can extend to full administrative control of Kibana and of the Elasticsearch cluster.

What

Unintended Proxy or Intermediary ('Confused Deputy') (CWE-441) in Kibana Agent Builder can lead to privilege escalation. A non-administrative user able to edit a shared agent could cause privileged operations to be carried out under the identity of a higher-privileged user who subsequently interacts with that agent. Where the same user can also author workflows, this can extend to full administrative control of Kibana and of the Elasticsearch cluster.

Why

The product receives a request, message, or directive from an upstream component, but the product does not sufficiently preserve the original source of the request before forwarding the request to an external actor that is outside of the product's control sphere. This causes the product to appear to be the source of the request, leading it to act as a proxy or other intermediary between the upstream component and the external actor.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may gain additional privileges.

What

Unintended Proxy or Intermediary ('Confused Deputy') (CWE-441) in Kibana Agent Builder can lead to privilege escalation. A non-administrative user able to edit a shared agent could cause privileged operations to be carried out under the identity of a higher-privileged user who subsequently interacts with that agent. Where the same user can also author workflows, this can extend to full administrative control of Kibana and of the Elasticsearch cluster.

Why

The product receives a request, message, or directive from an upstream component, but the product does not sufficiently preserve the original source of the request before forwarding the request to an external actor that is outside of the product's control sphere. This causes the product to appear to be the source of the request, leading it to act as a proxy or other intermediary between the upstream component and the external actor.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may gain additional privileges.

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
a network path → Unintended Proxy or Intermediary ('Confused Deputy') → gain additional privileges
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
Low: a basic authenticated account is required
User interaction
Required interaction required
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-441 ↗

CWE-441: Unintended Proxy or Intermediary ('Confused Deputy'). The product receives a request, message, or directive from an upstream component, but the product does not sufficiently preserve the original source of the request before forwarding the request to an external actor that is outside of the product's control sphere. This causes the product to appear to be the source of the request, leading it to act as a proxy or other intermediary between the upstream component and the external actor.

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

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

AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRLowPrivileges required: The attacker needs basic user-level privileges.UIRequiredUser interaction: Another user must perform an action for exploitation to succeed.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.ANoneAvailability impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
NetworkPrivilege escalationCWE-441
A

Official authority intelligence

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

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-87792Official EUVD mapping

Unintended Proxy or Intermediary ('Confused Deputy') (CWE-441) in Kibana Agent Builder can lead to privilege escalation. A non-administrative user able to edit a shared agent could cause privileged operations to be carried out under the identity of a higher-privileged user who subsequently interacts with that agent. Where the same user can also author workflows, this can extend to full administrative control of Kibana and of the Elasticsearch cluster.

Official EUVD record ↗
BSI · German · WID-SEC-2026-3575Kibana: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Ein Angreifer kann mehrere Schwachstellen in Kibana ausnutzen, um Sicherheitsvorkehrungen zu umgehen, um Informationen offenzulegen, um Daten zu manipulieren, um seine Privilegien zu erhöhen, und um einen Denial of Service Angriff durchzuführen.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2026-AVI-1228Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits Elastic

De multiples vulnérabilités ont été découvertes dans les produits Elastic. Certaines d'entre elles permettent à un attaquant de provoquer une élévation de privilèges, un déni de service à distance et une atteinte à la confidentialité des données.

Official advisory ↗
CSIRT Italia · Italian · risolte-vulnerabilita-in-prodotti-elastic-2Risolte vulnerabilità in prodotti Elastic

Elastic ha rilevato nuove vulnerabilità nei propri prodotti, di cui una con gravità "alta", in Kibana. Tale vulnerabilità, qualora sfruttata, potrebbe consentire ad un utente malintenzionato di elevare i propri privilegi sui sistemi interessati.

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 not verified
Affected
Kibana: 9.4.0 ≤ 9.4.6
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 26 Sept 2026 · Last source change 29 Sept 2026, 03:55 UTC · CWE-441 · Unintended Proxy or Intermediary ('Confused Deputy')

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.2
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-09-27
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-87792
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD awaiting enrichment

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

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. ENISA EUVD mappingEUVD-2026-87792 was added to the official ENISA EUVD mapping for this CVE.
    Before
    not recorded
    After
    {"euvdId":"EUVD-2026-87792"}
    ENISA EUVD ↗
  2. Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: removed remediation: wid.cert-bund.de/securityadvisory?name=WID-SEC-2026-3575.
    Before
    remediation: wid.cert-bund.de/securityadvisory?name=WID-SEC-2026-3575
    After
    no authoritative guidance recorded
    CNA ↗
  3. Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.
    Before
    Open Source Kibana <9.5.3; Open Source Kibana <9.4.7; Open Source Kibana <8.19.22 · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in this authority advisory.
    After
    Kibana: 9.4.0 ≤ 9.4.6 · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    CNA ↗
  4. SeveritySeverity changed from Unknown to High.
    Before
    Unknown
    After
    High
    CNA ↗
  5. CVSS scoreCVSS score changed from not recorded to 7.3 (CVSS 3.1 · CNA · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N).
    Before
    not recorded
    After
    7.3 (CVSS 3.1 · CNA · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N)
    CNA ↗
  6. Catalogue recordCVE added to the BlackTree catalogue.
    Official national cybersecurity authority ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-87792↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
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-2026-72668 · cve.blacktree.nl