CVE-2025-3260 is a high-severity security vulnerability identified in Grafana version 11.6.0, affecting the /apis/dashboard.grafana.app/* API endpoints across all supported API versions (v0alpha1, v1alpha1, v2alpha1). The vulnerability is classified under CWE-863, which pertains to improper authorization. Specifically, it allows authenticated users to bypass dashboard and folder permission controls. This means that users with viewer roles can access all dashboards and folders regardless of their assigned permissions, while users with editor roles can view, edit, delete, and create dashboards in any folder without restriction. Notably, this bypass also affects anonymous users who have viewer or editor roles assigned, thereby broadening the scope of potential unauthorized access. Despite this, organizational isolation boundaries remain intact, and the vulnerability does not extend to access to datasources, limiting the scope to dashboard and folder management. The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.3, indicating a high severity level, with an attack vector of network, low attack complexity, requiring privileges but no user interaction, and impacting confidentiality and integrity significantly, with a low impact on availability. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no official patches have been linked yet. This vulnerability undermines the core access control mechanisms in Grafana dashboards, potentially allowing unauthorized data exposure and manipulation within the dashboards, which are critical for monitoring and visualization in many organizations.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-3260 can be substantial, especially for those relying heavily on Grafana for monitoring IT infrastructure, business metrics, and operational dashboards. Unauthorized access to dashboards can lead to exposure of sensitive operational data, business intelligence, and potentially personally identifiable information if such data is visualized. Editors gaining unauthorized write and delete permissions can lead to data integrity issues, including the alteration or removal of critical dashboards, which may disrupt monitoring and incident response activities. Although datasource access is not compromised, the ability to manipulate dashboards can still facilitate misinformation, hinder decision-making, and potentially mask ongoing attacks or failures. Organizations in sectors with strict data protection regulations, such as finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure, may face compliance risks and reputational damage if sensitive information is exposed or manipulated. The vulnerability also poses risks to multi-tenant environments where dashboards are segregated by folder permissions, as unauthorized cross-folder access could violate data segregation policies. Given the widespread use of Grafana in Europe, this vulnerability could affect a broad range of industries and organizations.

To mitigate the risks posed by CVE-2025-3260, European organizations should take immediate and specific actions beyond generic advice: 1) Upgrade Grafana to a version where this vulnerability is patched as soon as an official fix is released. Monitor Grafana’s official channels for patch announcements. 2) Until a patch is available, restrict access to the affected API endpoints by implementing network-level controls such as firewall rules or API gateways that limit access to trusted users and systems only. 3) Review and tighten user role assignments within Grafana, minimizing the number of users with editor roles and ensuring anonymous access is disabled or strictly controlled. 4) Implement enhanced monitoring and alerting on dashboard and folder changes to detect unauthorized modifications promptly. 5) Use Grafana’s audit logs to track access and changes to dashboards and folders, enabling forensic analysis if unauthorized activity is suspected. 6) Consider isolating critical dashboards in separate Grafana instances or environments to reduce the blast radius. 7) Educate administrators and users about the vulnerability and the importance of adhering to the principle of least privilege. These measures will help reduce the attack surface and limit potential damage until the vulnerability is fully remediated.