CVE-2026-4498: CWE-250 Execution with Unnecessary Privileges in Elastic Kibana
CVE-2026-4498 is a high-severity vulnerability in Elastic Kibana version 8. 0. 0 affecting the Fleet plugin. It involves execution with unnecessary privileges (CWE-250) in debug route handlers, allowing an authenticated Kibana user with Fleet sub-feature privileges to read Elasticsearch index data beyond their assigned RBAC scope. The vulnerability does not require user interaction but does require authentication with specific privileges. No official patch or remediation guidance is currently provided by the vendor. There are no known exploits in the wild at this time.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
This vulnerability in Kibana's Fleet plugin debug route handlers allows privilege abuse (CAPEC-122) whereby an authenticated user with Fleet sub-feature privileges (e.g., agents, agent policies, settings management) can access Elasticsearch index data beyond their direct RBAC permissions. The issue is classified as CWE-250 (Execution with Unnecessary Privileges) and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.7, indicating a high impact on confidentiality without affecting integrity or availability. The vulnerability affects Kibana version 8.0.0 and was published on April 8, 2026. No patch or official remediation level has been disclosed by Elastic as of the publication date.
Potential Impact
An authenticated Kibana user with Fleet sub-feature privileges can read Elasticsearch index data beyond their authorized scope, potentially exposing sensitive information. The vulnerability impacts confidentiality but does not affect integrity or availability. This could lead to unauthorized data disclosure within environments using Kibana 8.0.0 with Fleet plugin enabled.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is available, restrict Fleet sub-feature privileges to trusted users only and monitor access controls carefully. Avoid granting unnecessary Fleet privileges to reduce risk.
CVE-2026-4498: CWE-250 Execution with Unnecessary Privileges in Elastic Kibana
Description
CVE-2026-4498 is a high-severity vulnerability in Elastic Kibana version 8. 0. 0 affecting the Fleet plugin. It involves execution with unnecessary privileges (CWE-250) in debug route handlers, allowing an authenticated Kibana user with Fleet sub-feature privileges to read Elasticsearch index data beyond their assigned RBAC scope. The vulnerability does not require user interaction but does require authentication with specific privileges. No official patch or remediation guidance is currently provided by the vendor. There are no known exploits in the wild at this time.
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability in Kibana's Fleet plugin debug route handlers allows privilege abuse (CAPEC-122) whereby an authenticated user with Fleet sub-feature privileges (e.g., agents, agent policies, settings management) can access Elasticsearch index data beyond their direct RBAC permissions. The issue is classified as CWE-250 (Execution with Unnecessary Privileges) and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.7, indicating a high impact on confidentiality without affecting integrity or availability. The vulnerability affects Kibana version 8.0.0 and was published on April 8, 2026. No patch or official remediation level has been disclosed by Elastic as of the publication date.
Potential Impact
An authenticated Kibana user with Fleet sub-feature privileges can read Elasticsearch index data beyond their authorized scope, potentially exposing sensitive information. The vulnerability impacts confidentiality but does not affect integrity or availability. This could lead to unauthorized data disclosure within environments using Kibana 8.0.0 with Fleet plugin enabled.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is available, restrict Fleet sub-feature privileges to trusted users only and monitor access controls carefully. Avoid granting unnecessary Fleet privileges to reduce risk.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- elastic
- Date Reserved
- 2026-03-20T10:53:18.459Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 69d737031cc7ad14da4194de
Added to database: 4/9/2026, 5:20:03 AM
Last enriched: 4/16/2026, 12:20:51 PM
Last updated: 5/25/2026, 4:12:00 AM
Views: 81
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