CVE-2026-63262: Kibana Information Disclosure Flaw

CVE-2026-63262 Overview

CVE-2026-63262 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability [CWE-862] in Elastic Kibana. The flaw allows an authenticated user to circumvent space-level access control through user-supplied input. Attackers with low privileges can read data from Kibana spaces they should not be able to access. This results in cross-space information disclosure without impacting integrity or availability. Elastic addressed the issue in Kibana 9.4.4 through security update ESA-2026-73.

Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers with low privileges can retrieve confidential data from Kibana spaces they are not authorized to view, breaking the tenancy boundary enforced by space-level access controls.

Affected Products

Elastic Kibana (versions prior to 9.4.4)
Kibana deployments using space-level access control for multi-tenant separation
Self-managed and Elastic Cloud Kibana instances on affected versions

Discovery Timeline

2026-07-22 - CVE-2026-63262 published to NVD
2026-07-22 - Elastic publishes security update ESA-2026-73 for Kibana 9.4.4
2026-07-22 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-63262

Vulnerability Analysis

Kibana uses spaces to segment saved objects, dashboards, visualizations, and other resources across logical tenants. Space-level access control is expected to enforce that users only view resources within spaces they are granted access to. This vulnerability breaks that boundary. An authenticated user can supply crafted input that bypasses the authorization check tied to space membership. The server processes the request and returns data belonging to a different space. Confidentiality is affected but the vulnerability does not permit modification of data or disruption of service.

Root Cause

The root cause is a missing authorization check [CWE-862]. Kibana accepts user-supplied input that determines which space or resource is queried but fails to fully validate whether the requesting principal holds the required privileges for that target. The access control decision relies on assumptions about the input rather than an enforced server-side check against the caller's space assignments.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires network access to the Kibana instance and valid authenticated credentials with low privileges. No user interaction is needed. An attacker submits a request that references a space or object outside their granted scope, and the server returns the associated data. Because the attack path relies on authenticated API access, the risk is highest in environments where Kibana spaces are used to separate sensitive data between business units, customers, or trust zones.

No public proof-of-concept code is available. Refer to the Elastic Security Update ESA-2026-73 for vendor technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-63262

Indicators of Compromise

Kibana audit log entries showing a user accessing saved objects, dashboards, or indices tied to spaces outside their assigned membership.
Unusual API requests to /api/saved_objects/, /s/{space_id}/ endpoints, or _find queries referencing space identifiers a user is not provisioned for.
Spikes in read-only API traffic from low-privilege accounts across multiple space contexts.

Detection Strategies

Enable Kibana audit logging and correlate space_id in each event against the requesting user's role mappings.
Alert on any successful response where the accessed resource's space does not appear in the user's granted spaces.
Baseline normal per-user space access patterns and flag deviations, particularly cross-space enumeration attempts.

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward Kibana and Elasticsearch audit logs to a centralized analytics platform for cross-space access correlation.
Monitor authentication events from service accounts and API keys with limited space scope for anomalous read volume.
Track HTTP 200 responses to saved-object and search APIs originating from users whose roles do not include the referenced space.

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-63262

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade all Kibana instances to version 9.4.4 or later, which contains the fix delivered in ESA-2026-73.
Review Kibana audit logs for prior cross-space access attempts by low-privileged users.
Rotate credentials and API keys for accounts that show suspicious cross-space activity.
Reassess space-level role assignments and remove unnecessary access grants.

Patch Information

Elastic addressed CVE-2026-63262 in Kibana 9.4.4. Full remediation details are provided in the Elastic Security Update ESA-2026-73. Administrators running self-managed clusters should apply the upgrade immediately. Elastic Cloud users should confirm their deployment has been updated to a patched version.

Workarounds

No official workaround has been published by the vendor. Upgrading to Kibana 9.4.4 is the required remediation.
Restrict Kibana network exposure so only trusted networks can reach the management interface until the patch is applied.
Reduce the blast radius by tightening role-based access control and removing unused Kibana accounts.

bash

# Verify Kibana version after upgrade
curl -u <user>:<pass> -X GET "https://<kibana-host>:5601/api/status" \
  -H "kbn-xsrf: true" | jq '.version.number'

# Expected output: 9.4.4 or later