Cyber Resilience

CVE-2018-17246

Path Traversal in Elastic Kibana 5.0.0 – 5.6.13

Published
20 December 2018
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.82 99.6th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2018-17246 is a critical-severity External Control of File Name or Path (CWE-73) vulnerability in Elastic Kibana. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Kibana versions before 6.4.3 and 5.6.13 contain an arbitrary file inclusion flaw in the Console plugin. An attacker with access to the Kibana Console API could send a request that will attempt to execute javascript code. This could possibly lead…

more

to an attacker executing arbitrary commands with permissions of the Kibana process on the host system.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Accessconfidence: HIGH
Arbitrary file inclusion in the Kibana Console plugin allows remote code execution via crafted API requests.
T1059.007 JavaScript Executionconfidence: HIGH
The flaw enables execution of attacker-supplied JavaScript code through the Console API.
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalationconfidence: MEDIUM
Successful exploitation grants the attacker the privileges of the Kibana process, enabling privilege escalation.
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2019-7609Same product: Elastic Kibana
CVE-2024-43707Same product: Elastic Kibana
CVE-2026-49091Same product: Elastic Kibana
CVE-2024-7079Same product: Redhat Openshift Container Platform
CVE-2024-50312Same product: Redhat Openshift Container Platform
CVE-2026-26934Same product: Elastic Kibana
CVE-2023-31415Same product: Elastic Kibana
CVE-2025-37732Same product: Elastic Kibana
CVE-2024-52974Same product: Elastic Kibana
CVE-2024-50311Same product: Redhat Openshift Container Platform

Affected Assets

elastic
kibana
5.0.0 — 5.6.13 · 6.0.0 — 6.4.3
redhat
openshift container platform
3.11

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 6 hardening rules · 6 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V14.2.3
  • V5.3.2
  • V3.5.6
  • V9.1.3

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-829

Limiting P2P file sharing technology reduces inclusion of functionality or resources from untrusted external control spheres.

addresses: CWE-829

Enforcing installation policies prevents users from including functionality obtained from untrusted control spheres.

addresses: CWE-829

The inventory process requires identifying and recording the origin of all components, making inclusion of functionality from untrusted control spheres easier to detect during reviews.

addresses: CWE-829

Requiring approval and monitoring of maintenance tools prevents inclusion and execution of functionality obtained from untrusted sources.

addresses: CWE-829

Unowned portable devices represent untrusted control spheres; the prohibition prevents inclusion of functionality or data from such sources.

addresses: CWE-829

Strategy mandates assessment of third-party components and suppliers, directly reducing inclusion of functionality from untrusted control spheres.

addresses: CWE-829

Procedures can mandate supply-chain vetting and restrictions on functionality obtained from untrusted third-party or external control spheres.

addresses: CWE-829

Requires use of trusted sources and provenance tracking, tangibly limiting inclusion of functionality from untrusted control spheres.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

ID.RA-09 full match
prevents

Pre-acquisition integrity/authenticity checks directly prevent inclusion of untrusted code.

PR.PS-06 full match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices include input validation and path sanitization that eliminate this weakness.

GV.SC-01 mostly match
prevents

Supply-chain program directly governs inclusion of third-party executable code.

GV.SC-05 mostly match
prevents

Contractual requirements can mandate trusted sources and integrity checks for included functionality.

GV.SC-07 mostly match
prevents

Supplier risk assessment explicitly covers risks from their products and libraries.

ID.RA-10 mostly match
prevents

Critical-supplier assessment reduces risk of importing executable functionality from untrusted parties.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

prevents

By requiring suppliers to propagate security requirements and to disclose component provenance, the control limits the inclusion of functionality obtained from untrusted third-party sources without oversight.

detects

Security testing can detect path-traversal issues but does not itself implement preventive controls.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates input validation and path-handling controls that directly prevent external file/path manipulation.

prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against untrusted input influencing file operations.

prevents

Secure architecture principles discourage unsafe path construction but do not prescribe concrete file-name controls.

prevents

Secure coding standards require canonicalization, allow-listing, and bounds checks on file paths, directly eliminating CWE-73.

References