VulnerabilityPublished 26 Feb 2026

CVE-2026-26938: Elastic Kibana · Template Injection

Affects Elastic KibanaSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.6 High.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.6High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 21% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 26 Feb 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 30 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
ElasticKibana	Affected >=9.3.0 <=9.3.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Immediate mitigation involves restricting the workflowsManagement:executeWorkflow privilege to only the most trusted and necessary users, minimizing the attack surface.
Monitor and audit workflow executions and user activities within Kibana to detect any anomalous behavior indicative of exploitation attempts.
Implement network segmentation and firewall rules to limit Kibana server access and restrict outbound connections that could be leveraged in SSRF attacks.
Apply strict input validation and sanitization on any user-supplied data interacting with workflows or template engines, if customization is possible.
Coordinate with Elastic for timely patch releases and apply updates as soon as they become available.
Consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious payloads targeting template injection patterns.
Review and harden Kibana and Elastic Stack configurations to follow security best practices, including disabling unnecessary features and enforcing strong authentication mechanisms.
Educate administrators and users about the risks associated with workflow privileges and the importance of least privilege principles.

Description

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine (CWE-1336) exists in Workflows in Kibana which could allow an attacker to read arbitrary files from the Kibana server filesystem, and perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) via Code Injection (CAPEC-242). This requires an authenticated user who has the workflowsManagement:executeWorkflow privilege.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-26938 is the compromise of confidentiality within affected organizations. Attackers with valid credentials and the required privilege can read arbitrary files on the Kibana server, potentially exposing sensitive configuration files, credentials, logs, or other confidential data. Additionally, SSRF capabilities can be exploited to pivot into internal networks, accessing services that are not exposed externally, which could lead to further compromise or data exfiltration. While integrity and availability are not directly impacted, the exposure of sensitive information and internal network access can facilitate subsequent attacks that may affect these properties. Organizations using Kibana 9.3.0 in environments with sensitive data or critical infrastructure are at heightened risk. The vulnerability could be particularly damaging in multi-tenant or cloud environments where Kibana is exposed to multiple users. Given the lack of known exploits in the wild, the threat is currently theoretical but could be weaponized rapidly once exploit code becomes available.

CWE-1336Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine (opens in a new tab)
Base weakness
The product uses a template engine to insert or process externally-influenced input, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements or syntax that can be interpreted as template expressions or other code directives when processed by the engine.
Architecture and Design
Choose a template engine that offers a sandbox or restricted mode, or at least limits the power of any available expressions, function calls, or commands.
Implementation
Use the template engine's sandbox or restricted mode, if available.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
Deserialization (opens in a new tab)
Server Side Request Forgery Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Unvalidated Redirects and Forwards (opens in a new tab)
Cross Site Scripting Prevention (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.5.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.2.8 (opens in a new tab)
V5.2.5 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

discuss.elastic.co/t/kibana-9-3-1-security-update-esa-2026-17/385253 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 5 Mar 2026, 21:18 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-1336

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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