CVE-2026-49092: Kibana Information Disclosure Vulnerability

CVE-2026-49092 Overview

CVE-2026-49092 is a Confused Deputy vulnerability [CWE-441] in Elastic Kibana. The flaw allows a lower-privileged authenticated user to trigger data processing using another user's privileges. Under specific conditions, the attacker can cause data from sources they lack authorization to access to be processed on their behalf. This maps to CAPEC-1 (Accessing Functionality Not Properly Constrained by ACLs) and is also categorized under [CWE-863] Incorrect Authorization.

The issue affects Kibana and was addressed in the Elastic Security Update ESA-2026-54 for Kibana 9.4.3.

Critical Impact
An authenticated low-privilege Kibana user can obtain unauthorized information by causing another user's privileges to be applied to a request against restricted data sources.

Affected Products

Elastic Kibana (versions prior to 9.4.3, per ESA-2026-54)
Deployments where multiple users with differing data access privileges share a Kibana instance
Kibana features that process data under an alternate user context

Discovery Timeline

2026-07-21 - CVE-2026-49092 published to NVD
2026-07-22 - Last updated in NVD database
Vendor Advisory - Elastic Security Update ESA-2026-54

Technical Details for CVE-2026-49092

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a classic Confused Deputy scenario. Kibana acts as an intermediary between users and Elasticsearch data sources. When Kibana processes requests, it may in certain workflows use the privileges of a user other than the requester. A lower-privileged user can exploit this behavior to have data processed using higher or different privileges than their own. The result is unauthorized information exposure limited to confidentiality impact. The vulnerability does not affect data integrity or availability, and no user interaction is required to trigger it. Attackers must hold valid low-privilege credentials on the targeted Kibana instance.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper enforcement of authorization boundaries when Kibana proxies or delegates data access requests. Kibana fails to consistently validate that the requesting user, not an intermediate user context, holds the required access rights on the underlying data source. This aligns with [CWE-441] Unintended Proxy or Intermediary and [CWE-863] Incorrect Authorization.

Attack Vector

An authenticated attacker with low privileges sends requests to a Kibana feature that invokes another user's privileges when accessing Elasticsearch data. The attacker manipulates the workflow so that data from indices or sources they cannot directly query is processed on their behalf. The vulnerability is network-exploitable and requires no user interaction from the higher-privileged user.

No public proof-of-concept exploit is currently available. Refer to the Elastic Security Update ESA-2026-54 for vendor-provided technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-49092

Indicators of Compromise

Kibana audit log entries showing low-privileged users triggering workflows that resolve data from indices outside their assigned role mappings
Elasticsearch access patterns where a service or elevated user context executes queries correlated in time with low-privilege Kibana sessions
Unexpected data appearing in visualizations, dashboards, or exports for users without the corresponding index privileges

Detection Strategies

Enable Kibana audit logging and correlate user.name in Kibana events with the effective user shown in Elasticsearch audit logs for the same request chain
Alert on privilege mismatches where the Kibana session user differs from the Elasticsearch principal executing the downstream query
Baseline normal role-to-index access patterns and flag deviations initiated by non-privileged accounts

Monitoring Recommendations

Ingest Kibana and Elasticsearch audit logs into a centralized SIEM with retention sufficient for cross-referencing user contexts
Monitor for anomalous exports, report generation, or saved-object executions by low-privilege users
Review role mappings and Kibana feature privileges regularly to identify overly permissive intermediary contexts

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-49092

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Kibana to version 9.4.3 or later as directed by ESA-2026-54
Inventory all Kibana instances and confirm patch status across production and non-production environments
Review recent Kibana audit logs for signs of exploitation prior to patching

Patch Information

Elastic released a fix in Kibana 9.4.3 under advisory ESA-2026-54. Administrators should apply the update through their standard Elastic Stack upgrade process and validate that all replicas within a cluster are running the patched version.

Workarounds

Restrict Kibana access to trusted users only and remove unnecessary low-privilege accounts until patching is complete
Reduce the use of features that execute under alternate user contexts, such as scheduled reports or shared saved objects, where feasible
Tighten Elasticsearch role definitions so that intermediary contexts have the minimum privileges required for their function