CVE-2026-16491: Auth Bypass (CVSS 6.5)

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.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

6.5

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0029

Probability of exploitation

0.22%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-862 Missing Authorization

References

Other References

https://grafana.com/security/security-advisories/cve-2026-16491

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-16491? +

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. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2026-16491? +

CVE-2026-16491 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance. The EPSS score is 0.0029, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-16491? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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