CVE-2026-72900: Metabase Information Disclosure Flaw

CVE-2026-72900 Overview

CVE-2026-72900 is a missing authorization vulnerability [CWE-862] in Metabase, the open-source business intelligence and analytics platform. The flaw allows an authenticated, low-privileged attacker to read the entire Metabase application database over the network. This exposes sensitive contents including user records, database connection metadata, saved queries, dashboards, and other stored analytics artifacts. The vulnerability requires only valid low-privileged credentials and no user interaction.

Critical Impact
An authenticated user with minimal privileges can exfiltrate the complete contents of the Metabase application database, including credentials and internal metadata used to reach connected data sources.

Affected Products

Metabase (open-source and Enterprise editions) — refer to the vendor advisory for fixed version ranges
Deployments exposing the Metabase web interface or API to authenticated users
Self-hosted and containerized Metabase installations

Discovery Timeline

2026-08-10 - CVE-2026-72900 published to NVD
2026-08-10 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-72900

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is classified as Missing Authorization [CWE-862]. Metabase fails to enforce access control on functionality that reads records from its internal application database. A user who authenticates with low privileges can invoke this functionality and retrieve data that should be restricted to administrators.

The Metabase application database stores operational state for the platform. This includes user accounts, hashed credentials, session information, database connection definitions, permissions, and cached query artifacts. Exposure of this store undermines the confidentiality of the entire Metabase deployment and any downstream systems whose connection details are stored inside it.

The scope covers the confidentiality dimension only. The vulnerability does not permit modification of records or disruption of service according to the published metric vector. Because the attack surface is network-reachable and complexity is low, exploitation is straightforward once an attacker has any authenticated foothold.

Root Cause

The root cause is an authorization check that is either absent or improperly scoped on an endpoint or internal function that reads the application database. The code path does not verify that the calling principal holds administrative rights before returning application-level data.

Attack Vector

An attacker authenticates to Metabase using any low-privileged account, including accounts obtained through self-service signup where enabled, or accounts limited to a single collection. The attacker then issues requests to the vulnerable functionality and receives application database contents in the response. No privilege escalation or additional exploitation primitive is required. See the GitHub Security Advisory for authoritative technical detail.

// No verified proof-of-concept code is published for CVE-2026-72900.
// Refer to the vendor security advisory for technical specifics.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-72900

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected HTTP requests from low-privileged Metabase accounts to administrative or internal API paths
Large response payloads returned to non-admin user sessions from Metabase API endpoints
Access log entries showing repeated enumeration of internal resource identifiers by the same session
Egress traffic from the Metabase host to unfamiliar destinations shortly after suspicious API activity

Detection Strategies

Enable Metabase audit logging and forward events to a centralized log platform for correlation and retention
Alert on non-administrator accounts accessing endpoints that historically only administrators call
Baseline typical response sizes per user role and flag statistical outliers, which can indicate bulk data extraction
Correlate authentication events with subsequent API activity to identify newly created or dormant accounts that begin harvesting data

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor Metabase reverse proxy or ingress logs for anomalous request rates from single sessions
Track process and network telemetry on the Metabase host, including outbound connections initiated by the Java process
Review Metabase user administration events for creation of low-privileged accounts followed immediately by API usage
Ingest Metabase logs into a SIEM or data lake to enable retrospective search once patches are applied

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-72900

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Metabase to the fixed version identified in the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-8hmm-hrhg-ppqp
Rotate credentials for all data sources configured in Metabase, since connection secrets stored in the application database may be exposed
Force password reset for all Metabase users and invalidate active sessions after upgrading
Audit user accounts and remove any unrecognized or unnecessary low-privileged accounts

Patch Information

Metabase has published a security advisory tracking this issue as GHSA-8hmm-hrhg-ppqp. Administrators should consult the vendor advisory and the CVE record for the specific fixed versions applicable to each supported release train. Additional coordination detail is available in the CISA CSAF document.

Workarounds

Restrict network access to Metabase so that only trusted users can authenticate, using VPN, SSO enforcement, or IP allowlists
Disable self-service account creation and audit existing low-privileged users until the patch is applied
Place Metabase behind a reverse proxy that enforces per-endpoint access control for known administrative paths
Isolate the Metabase host and its application database on a segmented network to limit lateral movement if data is exfiltrated

bash

# Example: restrict Metabase ingress to trusted CIDR ranges with iptables
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 3000 -s 10.0.0.0/8 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 3000 -j DROP

# Disable public signup via environment variable before restart
export MB_ENABLE_PUBLIC_SETTINGS=false