Elastic has released a critical security update addressing a high-severity prototype pollution vulnerability in Kibana that could allow attackers to inject malicious code.
The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2024-12556 and documented in the Elastic Security Advisory ESA-2025-02, affects multiple versions of the popular data visualization platform for Elasticsearch.
Vulnerability Details
Security researchers discovered that Kibana, the open-source data visualization dashboard for Elasticsearch, is vulnerable to a prototype pollution attack that can lead to code injection when combined with unrestricted file upload and path traversal techniques.
The vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS score of 8.7 (High), indicating its serious nature.
The vulnerability affects Kibana versions 8.16.1 through 8.17.1, putting numerous organizations at risk of potential exploitation.
According to the security advisory, successful exploitation could allow attackers to inject malicious code into affected Kibana instances.
What is Prototype Pollution?
Prototype pollution is a security vulnerability specific to JavaScript and Node.js applications like Kibana.
This type of vulnerability allows attackers to manipulate JavaScript object prototypes, introducing or modifying properties that shouldn’t be accessible.
When chained with file upload capabilities and path traversal techniques, it creates a dangerous attack vector that can lead to:
- Uploading files with malicious content
- Traversing directories to write to unintended locations
- Polluting object prototypes to affect server logic
- Ultimately executing arbitrary code on the server
Recommended Mitigations
Elastic has released patched versions to address this vulnerability. Organizations running affected Kibana installations are strongly advised to upgrade immediately to version 8.16.4 or 8.17.2 or higher.
For users who cannot immediately upgrade their Kibana installations, Elastic has provided an alternative mitigation strategy.
Administrators can disable the integration assistant feature by adding the following configuration line to their kibana.yml file:
xpack.integration_assistant.enabled: falseThis temporary mitigation helps reduce the risk until a proper upgrade can be performed, though a full upgrade provides the most comprehensive protection.
Broader Context
This vulnerability disclosure comes amid growing concerns about security in data visualization and analysis tools.
Kibana serves as the primary user interface for the Elastic Stack, allowing users to search, view, and interact with data stored in Elasticsearch indices.
Its widespread adoption across enterprises makes this vulnerability particularly concerning for security teams.
The vulnerability was officially published on April 8, 2025, and received immediate attention due to its high severity score and the popularity of the affected software.
Security experts emphasize that prototype pollution vulnerabilities are becoming increasingly common in JavaScript-based applications, as they can enable attackers to manipulate application behavior in unexpected ways.
When combined with other vulnerabilities like unrestricted file uploads and path traversal, they represent a significant threat to web application security.
Organizations using Kibana are encouraged to review their deployments immediately and implement the recommended mitigations to protect their data and systems from potential exploitation of this vulnerability.
Find this Story Interesting! Follow us on LinkedIn and X to Get More Instant Updates
%20(1).webp?resize=1600,900&ssl=1&description=For users who cannot immediately upgrade their Kibana installations, Elastic has provided an alternative mitigation strategy.){kind=link}