Description
Grafana’s RBAC service ignored the requested folder when checking whether a user was a folder administrator for deleted dashboard listings. A user with dashboard permission-management rights on any folder could therefore be treated as an administrator of every folder.

This could expose deleted dashboard items from folders where the user lacked administrative access. The fix requires permission on the specified folder, an ancestor, or a wildcard scope.
Published: 2026-10-27
Score: 6.5 Medium
EPSS: n/a
KEV: No
Impact: Unauthorized exposure of deleted dashboards and potential privilege escalation to administrator level across all folders
Action: Patch promptly
AI Analysis

Impact

The vulnerability stems from Grafana’s RBAC service ignoring the requested folder when verifying if a user is a folder administrator for deleted dashboard listings. Because of this, a user with dashboard permission‑management rights on any folder can be treated as an administrator of every folder. This flaw can result in the disclosure of deleted dashboards from folders where the user does not actually have administrative access, potentially exposing sensitive configuration or historical data. The weakness is a missing authorization check (CWE‑862).

Affected Systems

Affected systems include Grafana Enterprise and Grafana OSS deployments. No specific version information is supplied in the advisory, so any installation using the impacted RBAC component should be evaluated. The advisory references Grafana’s support site for details.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score for this issue is 6.5, indicating a medium severity. The EPSS score is not available, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. The attack vector is inferred to require an authenticated user with the capability to manage dashboard permissions on at least one folder; no separate exploit code or remote code execution path is described. This suggests that the risk is tied to privilege escalation and data exposure within authorized users rather than external attackers.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on October 27, 2026 at 18:48 UTC.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Update Grafana to the latest patched release that addresses the folder‑access check; the Grafana advisory lists the specific build numbers.
  • Verify that the RBAC configuration enforces folder context during permission validations and that deleted dashboard listings are hidden from non‑admin users; conduct a quick audit by attempting to access a deleted dashboard from a folder where you lack admin rights.
  • Restrict or regularly review the assignment of dashboard permission‑management rights to users, ensuring least privilege and preventing unintended elevation to global folder administrator status.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on October 27, 2026 at 18:48 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories

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History

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 19:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Grafana
Grafana grafana
Grafana grafana Enterprise
Vendors & Products Grafana
Grafana grafana
Grafana grafana Enterprise

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 17:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Grafana’s RBAC service ignored the requested folder when checking whether a user was a folder administrator for deleted dashboard listings. A user with dashboard permission-management rights on any folder could therefore be treated as an administrator of every folder. This could expose deleted dashboard items from folders where the user lacked administrative access. The fix requires permission on the specified folder, an ancestor, or a wildcard scope.
Title CVE-2026-16491 CVE Record
Weaknesses CWE-862
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 6.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N'}


Subscriptions

Grafana Grafana Grafana Enterprise
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: GRAFANA

Published:

Updated: 2026-10-27T17:21:38.467Z

Reserved: 2026-07-21T16:02:26.000Z

Link: CVE-2026-16491

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-10-27T18:17:37.053

Modified: 2026-10-27T18:17:37.053

Link: CVE-2026-16491

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-10-27T19:15:07Z

Weaknesses