CVE-2022-24812 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management) affecting Grafana Enterprise versions from 8.1.0-beta1 up to, but not including, 8.4.6. Grafana is a widely used open-source platform for monitoring and observability, often deployed in enterprise environments to visualize metrics and logs. This vulnerability arises specifically when the fine-grained access control (FGAC) beta feature is enabled. The issue is related to the caching mechanism of API Key permissions. When a client makes a request using a Grafana API Key, the permissions associated with that key are cached for 30 seconds for the organization. However, due to the way the cache ID is constructed, subsequent requests using any API Key within the same organization receive the cached permissions from the previous request, regardless of the actual permissions assigned to the new API Key. For example, if an initial request is made with an API Key that has Admin privileges, and a subsequent request is made with a different API Key that should only have Viewer privileges, the second request will erroneously inherit the Admin privileges from the cache. This results in an escalation of privileges, allowing lower-privileged API Keys to perform actions reserved for higher-privileged roles. The vulnerability only impacts Grafana Enterprise with FGAC enabled and when multiple API Keys with different roles exist within the same organization. It does not affect the open-source Grafana version or Enterprise versions without FGAC enabled. No known exploits have been reported in the wild as of the publication date. The recommended remediation is to upgrade to a fixed version beyond 8.4.6 or to disable the fine-grained access control feature as a temporary mitigation. This vulnerability poses a risk to confidentiality and integrity by allowing unauthorized access and potential modification of sensitive monitoring data or configurations through privilege escalation.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2022-24812 can be significant, especially for those relying on Grafana Enterprise for critical monitoring and observability functions. Unauthorized privilege escalation could allow attackers or malicious insiders to access sensitive operational data, modify dashboards, or alter alerting rules, potentially masking ongoing attacks or causing operational disruptions. This could lead to compromised system integrity and confidentiality breaches, impacting incident response and compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR. Organizations in sectors with strict regulatory requirements (e.g., finance, healthcare, energy) may face increased risks due to the sensitivity of monitored data and the criticality of continuous monitoring. Although availability impact is limited, the integrity and confidentiality risks could indirectly affect system availability if attackers manipulate monitoring data to hide system faults or attacks. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially in environments with multiple API Keys and FGAC enabled. Attackers with access to any API Key could exploit this vulnerability to escalate privileges without needing additional authentication or user interaction, increasing the threat level in multi-tenant or large organizational deployments.

1. Upgrade Grafana Enterprise installations to version 8.4.6 or later, where this vulnerability is patched. 2. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, disable the fine-grained access control (FGAC) beta feature to prevent the caching issue from occurring. 3. Audit existing API Keys within organizations to minimize the number of keys with overlapping or differing roles, reducing the attack surface. 4. Implement strict API Key management policies, including regular rotation and least privilege assignment, to limit potential misuse. 5. Monitor API usage logs for unusual access patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts, such as unexpected privilege escalations. 6. Restrict access to Grafana API endpoints via network segmentation and firewall rules to limit exposure to trusted systems and users only. 7. Educate administrators about the risks of enabling FGAC beta features in production environments without thorough testing. 8. Employ additional application-layer access controls or proxies that can enforce role-based restrictions independently of Grafana's internal caching mechanisms.