CVE-2023-46675 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting Elastic's Kibana platform, specifically versions from 7.13.0 through 8.0.0. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-532, which involves the insertion of sensitive information into log files. In this case, Kibana may inadvertently record highly sensitive data within its logs when an unexpected error occurs during communication with Elasticsearch or when debug level logging is enabled. The sensitive information exposed can include account credentials for the kibana_system user, API keys, end-user credentials, Elastic Security package policy objects containing private keys, bearer tokens, session tokens for third-party integrations, authorization headers, client secrets, local file paths, and stack traces. This exposure occurs because Kibana logs error messages that contain these details without proper sanitization or redaction. Notably, a previous fix (ESA-2023-25) implemented in Kibana 8.11.1 was incomplete, necessitating the release of Kibana 8.11.2 to fully address the issue. The vulnerability requires low privileges (limited privileges) and no user interaction, but has a high attack complexity due to the need for network access and triggering specific error conditions. The vulnerability impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability, as attackers gaining access to logs could leverage the exposed credentials and secrets to escalate privileges, access sensitive data, or disrupt services. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the presence of sensitive data in logs represents a significant risk, especially in environments where log files are accessible to unauthorized users or insufficiently protected. Organizations running affected Kibana versions should prioritize upgrading to version 8.11.2 or later to mitigate this risk.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2023-46675 can be substantial. Kibana is widely used across various sectors including finance, healthcare, government, and critical infrastructure for data visualization and monitoring. Exposure of sensitive credentials and keys in logs can lead to unauthorized access to Elasticsearch clusters and other integrated systems, potentially resulting in data breaches, disruption of services, and compliance violations under regulations such as GDPR. The leakage of private keys and API tokens could enable attackers to impersonate legitimate users or services, escalate privileges, and move laterally within networks. This could compromise the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive personal and corporate data. Additionally, the availability of services could be impacted if attackers leverage the exposed credentials to disrupt or manipulate logging and monitoring infrastructure. Given the strict data protection requirements in Europe, such incidents could lead to significant legal and financial penalties, as well as reputational damage. Organizations relying on Kibana for security monitoring and analytics may also experience reduced visibility into their environments if the vulnerability is exploited, hindering incident detection and response capabilities.

1. Immediate upgrade: Organizations should upgrade all affected Kibana instances to version 8.11.2 or later, where the vulnerability has been fully addressed. 2. Restrict log access: Ensure that access to Kibana log files is strictly controlled using least privilege principles and that logs are stored securely with encryption at rest. 3. Disable debug logging: Avoid enabling debug level logging in production environments unless absolutely necessary, and if enabled, monitor logs closely for sensitive data exposure. 4. Log sanitization: Implement additional log management solutions that can scan and redact sensitive information from logs before storage or forwarding. 5. Network segmentation: Limit network access to Kibana and Elasticsearch instances to trusted administrators and systems to reduce the risk of unauthorized access to logs. 6. Monitor for anomalies: Deploy monitoring and alerting for unusual access patterns to Kibana logs and Elasticsearch clusters, including unexpected error rates that could trigger sensitive data logging. 7. Incident response readiness: Prepare incident response plans that include steps to handle potential credential exposure and unauthorized access resulting from this vulnerability. 8. Review and rotate credentials: After patching, review all exposed credentials, API keys, and tokens, and rotate them as necessary to prevent misuse of leaked secrets.