CVE-2024-43706 Overview
CVE-2024-43706 is an improper authorization vulnerability in Elastic Kibana. The flaw allows authenticated users to abuse privileges by sending direct HTTP requests to a Synthetic monitor endpoint. The weakness is tracked under CWE-285: Improper Authorization and affects Kibana versions prior to the 8.12.1 security update.
An attacker with low privileges can reach the vulnerable endpoint over the network and perform actions that should be restricted to higher-privileged roles. Successful exploitation impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected Kibana instance.
Critical Impact
Authenticated low-privilege users can bypass authorization checks on a Synthetic monitor endpoint in Kibana and abuse elevated privileges, exposing monitored data and configurations.
Affected Products
- Elastic Kibana (versions prior to 8.12.1)
- Elastic Synthetics monitoring feature in Kibana
- Deployments exposing Kibana Synthetic monitor endpoints to authenticated users
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-06-10 - CVE-2024-43706 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2024-43706
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability resides in Kibana's Synthetic monitor endpoint, which fails to enforce proper authorization checks on incoming HTTP requests. An authenticated user can craft a direct HTTP request that bypasses the intended role-based access controls. This allows the attacker to perform privileged actions tied to Synthetic monitoring without holding the required role.
The issue is classified under CWE-285: Improper Authorization. Because Kibana is commonly deployed to visualize sensitive telemetry from Elasticsearch clusters, unauthorized access to Synthetic monitor functionality can expose monitoring data, alter monitor configurations, or degrade the observability pipeline. Elastic addressed the flaw in the 8.12.1 security update tracked as ESA-2024-21.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing or insufficient authorization enforcement on a specific Synthetic monitor endpoint in Kibana. Authentication is validated, but role-based checks are not consistently applied to direct HTTP requests targeting the endpoint. As a result, the server processes requests that should be rejected based on the caller's role.
Attack Vector
Exploitation requires network access to a vulnerable Kibana instance and a valid low-privileged account. The attacker sends a crafted HTTP request directly to the Synthetic monitor endpoint, bypassing the UI-level restrictions. No user interaction is required, and the attack complexity is low.
No public proof-of-concept or exploit code has been published for CVE-2024-43706. Refer to the Elastic Security Update Advisory for vendor-provided technical details.
Detection Methods for CVE-2024-43706
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected HTTP requests to Kibana Synthetic monitor API endpoints from accounts without the corresponding Synthetics privileges.
- Creation, modification, or deletion of Synthetic monitors by users outside the expected administrator or Synthetics roles.
- Anomalous request patterns targeting the Synthetics API from a single authenticated session.
Detection Strategies
- Correlate Kibana audit logs with role assignments to identify authorization mismatches on Synthetic monitor endpoints.
- Alert on direct API calls to Synthetic monitor routes that bypass normal UI navigation flows.
- Baseline Synthetic monitor create/update/delete operations per user role and flag deviations.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable Kibana audit logging and forward events to a centralized log platform for retention and analysis.
- Monitor Elasticsearch and Kibana access logs for HTTP requests to /api/synthetics/* endpoints from unexpected source IPs or accounts.
- Track version metadata across Kibana nodes to identify hosts still running versions below 8.12.1.
How to Mitigate CVE-2024-43706
Immediate Actions Required
- Upgrade all Kibana instances to version 8.12.1 or later as specified in the Elastic Security Update Advisory ESA-2024-21.
- Review Kibana user and role assignments and revoke access for accounts that do not require Synthetics functionality.
- Rotate credentials and API keys for any account suspected of abusing Synthetic monitor endpoints.
Patch Information
Elastic released a fix in Kibana 8.12.1 tracked as ESA-2024-21. Administrators should apply the update via their standard Elastic upgrade process and verify the running version afterward. Consult the vendor advisory for release notes and upgrade guidance.
Workarounds
- Restrict network access to Kibana so only trusted users and networks can reach the management interface.
- Limit assignment of privileged Kibana roles and apply least-privilege principles for Synthetics-related permissions until patching is complete.
- Place Kibana behind a reverse proxy or web application firewall configured to restrict access to Synthetics API paths for non-administrative users.
# Verify the installed Kibana version and confirm it is 8.12.1 or later
curl -s -u <admin_user>:<password> https://<kibana-host>:5601/api/status | jq '.version.number'
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
