dbcve.org
KibanaApplication · Elastic

CVE-2021-22150

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.14.1 or later.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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
It was discovered that a user with Fleet admin permissions could upload a malicious package. Due to using an older version of the js-yaml library, this package would be loaded in an insecure manner, allowing an attacker to execute commands on the Kibana server.

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

A deserialization vulnerability in the js-yaml library used by Kibana's Fleet feature allows authenticated Fleet admins to execute arbitrary commands by uploading specially crafted malicious packages. The older js-yaml version lacks proper sanitization during YAML parsing, enabling code execution on the Kibana server.

MitigationUpdate the js-yaml dependency to a patched version (4.x) that addresses the unsafe deserialization, then verify Fleet package upload functionality continues to work correctly.

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:>= 7.10.2, < 7.14.1

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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 installed Kibana version
    Run `kibana --version` or check the version file in the Kibana installation directory, or query the Kibana API at `GET /api/status`
    Affected if The version is >= 7.10.2 and < 7.14.1
  2. Verify Fleet plugin is enabled
    Check the Kibana configuration file (kibana.yml) for `xpack.fleet.enabled: true` or query the Fleet API endpoints (e.g., `GET /api/fleet/setup`)
    Affected if Fleet is enabled and accessible to users
  3. Check js-yaml dependency version
    Inspect the Kibana node_modules/js-yaml/package.json file or run `npm list js-yaml` from the Kibana installation directory
    Affected if The js-yaml version is 3.x or earlier (unpatched)
  4. Identify running Fleet admin users
    Review Kibana user management or audit logs for users with Fleet admin roles, or check role definitions in the Kibana security settings
    Affected if There are active Fleet administrators who could upload packages

You are affected if running Kibana version 7.10.2 through 7.14.0 with Fleet enabled and the js-yaml library is version 3.x or earlier.

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 7.14.1 or later
Fixed in 7.14.1
Interim mitigation

Update the js-yaml dependency to a patched version (4.x) that addresses the unsafe deserialization, then verify Fleet package upload functionality continues to work correctly.

Recommended fix High confidence

7.14.1 or later

  1. 1. Back up your current Kibana configuration and data directory
  2. 2. Stop the Kibana service
  3. 3. Update Kibana to version 7.14.1 or later using your package manager or by downloading from https://www.elastic.co/downloads/kibana
  4. 4. Verify the js-yaml dependency has been updated to a secure version in the new release
  5. 5. Start the Kibana service
  6. 6. Verify Fleet functionality works correctly with the new version
  7. 7. Test that the code injection vulnerability is no longer present by confirming package loading behavior
Caveat Review Kibana 7.14.x release notes for any breaking changes or migration considerations before upgrading

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

Fix this in Kibana Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2021-22150 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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