GrafanaApplication
CVE-2022-35957
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 · uneditedGrafana is an open-source platform for monitoring and observability. Versions prior to 9.1.6 and 8.5.13 are vulnerable to an escalation from admin to server admin when auth proxy is used, allowing an admin to take over the server admin account and gain full control of the grafana instance. All installations should be upgraded as soon as possible. As a workaround deactivate auth proxy following the instructions at: https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/setup-grafana/configure-security/configure-authentication/auth-proxy/
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 confidenceThis is a privilege escalation vulnerability in Grafana where an admin user can escalate to server admin privileges when auth proxy authentication is enabled. The flaw allows a malicious admin to take over the server admin account and gain full control of the Grafana instance.
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
GrafanaApplication
< 8.5.13>= 9.0.0, < 9.0.9>= 9.1.0, < 9.1.6
FedoraOperating system
= 37CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check your Grafana versionRun `grafana-server -v` or look in the Grafana UI under Administration > Stats. Alternatively, check the installed package version with your OS package manager (e.g., `rpm -q grafana` on RHEL/Fedora).Affected if The version is less than 8.5.13, or between 9.0.0 and 9.0.9 inclusive, or between 9.1.0 and 9.1.6 inclusive.
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Verify if auth proxy authentication is enabledExamine your Grafana configuration file (typically grafana.ini or custom.ini) for the `[auth.proxy]` section. Look for `enabled = true`. You can also check environment variables for `GF_AUTH_PROXY_ENABLED=true`.Affected if The auth proxy is enabled (the `enabled` setting under `[auth.proxy]` is set to true).
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Confirm auth proxy allows privilege escalationIn the same `[auth.proxy]` section, check if `auto_assign_org_role` is set to `Admin` or if `auto_assign_org` and `auto_assign_org_role` together grant admin-level access. Also verify if the `whitelist` or `headers` configuration allows manipulating the X-WEBAUTH-USER header.Affected if Auth proxy is enabled and configured to automatically assign the Admin role or allows header-based role manipulation.
You are affected if your Grafana version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND auth proxy authentication is enabled with admin role assignment configured.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped8.5.139.0.99.1.6
Upgrade Grafana to version 9.1.6 or 8.5.13 or higher. Alternatively, if upgrade is not immediately feasible, deactivate auth proxy authentication as a temporary workaround.
Grafana 9.1.6 (or 8.5.13 for 8.x line)
- Identify your current Grafana version using 'grafana-server -v' or checking the package manager
- Stop the Grafana service: 'systemctl stop grafana-server' or 'sudo systemctl stop grafana-server'
- Upgrade Grafana to version 8.5.13 (for 8.x line) or 9.1.6 (for 9.x line) using your package manager
- For RHEL/Fedora: 'sudo dnf upgrade grafana' or 'sudo dnf install grafana-9.1.6'
- For Debian/Ubuntu: 'sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install grafana'
- Restart Grafana service: 'systemctl start grafana-server' or 'sudo systemctl start grafana-server'
- Verify the new version: 'grafana-server -v'
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Grafana
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-35957 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-35957 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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