Grafana /apis/dashboard.grafana.app/* permission bypass (CVE-2026-0713): When your dashboards stop obeying the rules

Grafana /apis/dashboard.grafana.app/* permission bypass (CVE-2026-0713): When your dashboards stop obeying the rules

What happened (straight to the point)

Fifteen minutes ago a high‑severity vulnerability was disclosed affecting Grafana’s /apis/dashboard.grafana.app/* endpoints (CVE-2026-0713). The flaw allows authenticated users to bypass dashboard and folder permissions across all API versions (v0alpha1, v1alpha1, v2alpha1). The reported impacts are clear and worrying: viewers can see every dashboard and folder regardless of permissions; editors can view, edit and delete every dashboard and folder and can create dashboards in any folder; and anonymous users assigned viewer/editor roles are equally affected. Importantly, organisation isolation boundaries remain intact and the issue does not grant access to datasources.

Why this matters to your business

Dashboards are not glorified wallpaper. They often surface operational secrets: hostnames, IPs, deployment statuses, incident timelines, and sometimes even links to internal tools or API endpoints. If an attacker or curious insider can read or change dashboards across folders, they can spot weak points, alter visible metrics and hide their tracks — or accidentally trigger confusion during an incident.

From a boardroom perspective, this translates into real risks: regulatory scrutiny if sensitive data is exposed, contractual exposure with partners who expect segregation of information, operational disruption when runbooks or alert thresholds are altered, and reputational damage if customers see private metrics they shouldn’t. Even without datasource access, the intelligence gained from dashboards can be used to plan follow‑on attacks or social engineering campaigns.

How the worst plays out (so you don’t think it won’t)

If dashboard permissioning is ignored, scenarios you should dread include: a disgruntled contractor or compromised account changing alert thresholds so incidents go unnoticed; public disclosure of internal capacity or outage information that triggers regulatory questions; or attackers using visible topology to target systems more effectively. Dashboards acting as a source of truth become a source of leak‑fuel — and they’re often less protected than the systems they visualise.

What organisations should do now

Take the vulnerability seriously and treat dashboards like configuration files and sensitive documentation — not poster art.

• Immediate containment: If you can, restrict access to Grafana instances from outside trusted networks, disable anonymous access and review any proxy or gateway rules that expose API endpoints.

• Inventory and assess: Identify which teams and systems use Grafana dashboards and map folders and API tokens to owners — an up‑to‑date asset inventory reduces panic.

• Rotate credentials and tokens: Revoke or rotate API keys and service tokens that have broad permissions, and check for unused or stale accounts.

• Audit and monitor: Immediately review recent dashboard changes and authentication events. Look for unusual editor activity or new dashboards created in unexpected folders.

• Apply vendor guidance: Watch Grafana advisories and apply vendor patches or configuration guidance as soon as they are available.

• Network segmentation and zero trust: Limit access to management endpoints with network controls and enforce strong authentication and least privilege for dashboards — treat editor roles like administration privileges.

• Test incident response: Run a tabletop or live play to confirm you can detect, contain and recover from a dashboard compromise without losing customer trust.

How recognised standards help (and where Synergos fits in)

An ISO 27001 information security management system would help by ensuring you have documented access control policies, a current asset inventory and formal change control — all of which reduce the chance that broad dashboard permissions go unnoticed. ISO 27001’s emphasis on risk assessment and supplier management is particularly useful where third‑party dashboards or managed Grafana instances are involved.

ISO 22301 business continuity thinking ensures that, even if monitoring and dashboards are altered or unavailable, your people know how to keep services running and communicate with customers — a practical antidote to panicked Slack channels and missed incident calls.

Practical baseline controls such as Cyber Essentials and tailored security awareness like usecure training reduce the chance that credentials are phished or misused, while a tested support package or managed service can help you respond faster; see ongoing support packages.

Quick alignment checklist

• Confirm who can be an Editor and why; remove unnecessary editor accounts.

• Ensure dashboards don’t contain secrets or hardcoded credentials.

• Limit API access to specific, documented service accounts and monitor their usage.

• Include dashboard and monitoring systems in your ISO 27001 scope and in supplier risk assessments.

Final nudge (do it now, not later)

This vulnerability is a reminder that visibility tools deserve the same rigour as production systems: treat them as critical assets, not decorative extras. Start with containment, audit your dashboard estate, rotate broad tokens and follow vendor guidance. Use standards such as ISO 27001 to formalise the controls and ISO 22301 to keep services running if dashboards misbehave. If you don’t have an asset inventory or clear owner list for your Grafana instances, make that the first thing you tick off tomorrow morning — before someone else reads your internal incident dashboard and decides to “help”.