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KibanaApplication · Elastic

CVE-2018-17246

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-12-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.6.13 / 6.4.3 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
High EPSS Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Kibana versions before 6.4.3 and 5.6.13 contain an arbitrary file inclusion flaw in the Console plugin. An attacker with access to the Kibana Console API could send a request that will attempt to execute javascript code. This could possibly lead to an attacker executing arbitrary commands with permissions of the Kibana process on the host system.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Arbitrary file inclusion vulnerability in Kibana's Console plugin allows an authenticated attacker with access to the Console API to send specially crafted requests that attempt to execute arbitrary JavaScript code, potentially leading to command execution with Kibana process privileges.

MitigationUpgrade Kibana to version 6.4.3 or later (6.x) and 5.6.13 or later (5.x). If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to the Kibana Console API to trusted users only.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
KibanaApplication
Affected:>= 5.0.0, < 5.6.13>= 6.0.0, < 6.4.3
Openshift Container PlatformApplication
Affected:= 3.11

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Kibana installation version
    Locate and retrieve the installed Kibana version. In typical installations, this can be done by running 'kibana --version' or checking the 'kibana/package.json' file in the installation directory.
    Affected if The installed version falls within >= 5.0.0 and < 5.6.13, or >= 6.0.0 and < 6.4.3, or matches the version shipped with Red Hat Openshift Container Platform 3.11.
  2. Confirm Console plugin is enabled
    Verify that the Kibana Console plugin is in an enabled state. The Console plugin is included by default in Kibana installations and is typically found in the 'plugins' directory or reported as active when querying the Kibana status API.
    Affected if The Console plugin is active and accessible, which is the default configuration in affected Kibana versions.
  3. Assess network accessibility of Console API endpoint
    Determine whether the Kibana Console API endpoint (typically at /api/console/proxy or similar paths) is exposed to untrusted network segments. Review network configuration, firewall rules, and any proxy settings that control access to Kibana.
    Affected if The Console API is reachable from network segments that include untrusted or unauthenticated users.
  4. Verify Kibana authentication enforcement
    Check whether Kibana has authentication properly configured and enforced. Review the 'kibana.yml' configuration file for 'xpack.security.enabled' or 'elasticsearch.username' settings, and confirm that anonymous access is disabled.
    Affected if Anonymous access is permitted or authentication is not enforced, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to reach the Console API.

You are affected if your Kibana version is within the vulnerable ranges (5.0.0 to 5.6.12 or 6.0.0 to 6.4.2), the Console plugin is enabled, and the Console API is accessible to an attacker who can authenticate or to unauthenticated users.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.6.13 / 6.4.3 or later
Fixed in 5.6.136.4.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Kibana to version 6.4.3 or later (6.x) and 5.6.13 or later (5.x). If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to the Kibana Console API to trusted users only.

Recommended fix High confidence

Kibana 5.6.13 or higher for 5.x branches; Kibana 6.4.3 or higher for 6.x branches

  1. Identify the currently installed Kibana version using 'kibana --version' or checking the service configuration
  2. For Kibana 5.x versions: Upgrade to version 5.6.13 or higher
  3. For Kibana 6.x versions: Upgrade to version 6.4.3 or higher
  4. Restart the Kibana service after upgrade using 'systemctl restart kibana' or 'service kibana restart'
  5. Verify Kibana is running correctly by checking the service status and accessing the web interface
  6. Test that the Console plugin functions normally after the upgrade
Caveat These are patch releases with minimal changes; however, always review release notes and test in staging before production deployment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Kibana Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-17246 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data