CVE-2025-25010 is a security vulnerability identified in Elastic's Kibana versions 9.0.0 and 9.1.0, categorized under CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization). The flaw arises from improper authorization controls associated with the built-in reporting_user role. Specifically, this role is granted unintended access privileges that allow it to access all Kibana Spaces, which are logical partitions within Kibana used to segregate data and dashboards for different teams or projects. This incorrect authorization effectively enables privilege escalation, where a user assigned the reporting_user role can gain access beyond their intended scope without needing additional authentication or user interaction. The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.5 (medium severity), with the vector indicating network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), requiring low privileges (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), high confidentiality impact (C:H), no integrity impact (I:N), and no availability impact (A:N). Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the vulnerability poses a significant risk due to the elevated access it grants, potentially exposing sensitive data contained within various Kibana Spaces. Since Kibana is widely used as a visualization and management interface for Elasticsearch data, this vulnerability could allow attackers or unauthorized users to view sensitive dashboards and reports across organizational boundaries, undermining data confidentiality and organizational security policies.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability can be substantial, especially for those relying on Elastic Stack for critical data analytics, monitoring, and reporting. Unauthorized access to all Kibana Spaces can lead to exposure of sensitive business intelligence, operational metrics, or personal data protected under regulations such as GDPR. This breach of confidentiality could result in regulatory penalties, loss of customer trust, and potential competitive disadvantage. Furthermore, organizations in sectors such as finance, healthcare, telecommunications, and government—where Kibana is often deployed for real-time data visualization—may face increased risk of data leakage or espionage. The medium severity rating reflects the fact that while the vulnerability does not directly affect data integrity or system availability, the confidentiality breach alone can have serious compliance and reputational consequences. Since exploitation requires only low privileges and no user interaction, insider threats or compromised low-privilege accounts could leverage this flaw to escalate access, making internal threat vectors particularly concerning.

To mitigate this vulnerability effectively, European organizations should first verify their Kibana versions and prioritize upgrading to patched versions once Elastic releases them. In the absence of an immediate patch, organizations should implement strict role-based access control (RBAC) reviews, specifically auditing the permissions assigned to the reporting_user role and any custom roles derived from it. Temporarily restricting or disabling the reporting_user role where feasible can reduce exposure. Additionally, organizations should enforce the principle of least privilege by ensuring users have only the minimum necessary access to Kibana Spaces. Monitoring and logging access to Kibana Spaces should be enhanced to detect anomalous access patterns indicative of privilege escalation attempts. Network segmentation and access controls limiting Kibana access to trusted IP ranges can further reduce risk. Finally, integrating multi-factor authentication (MFA) for Kibana access and conducting regular security awareness training for administrators and users can help prevent exploitation stemming from compromised credentials or insider misuse.