CVE-2021-43798
Grafana is an open-source platform for monitoring and observability. Grafana versions 8.0.0-beta1 through 8.3.0 (except for patched versions) iss vulnerable to directory traversal, allowing access to local files. The vulnerable URL path is: `<grafana_host_url>/public/plugins//`, where is the plugin ID for any installed plugin. At no time has Grafana Cloud been vulnerable. Users are advised to upgrade to patched versions 8.0.7, 8.1.8, 8.2.7, or 8.3.1. The GitHub Security Advisory contains more information about vulnerable URL paths, mitigation, and the disclosure timeline.
do firstApply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Can a WAF block it? Yes. Path traversal sends `../` sequences in the request, which WAF rules catch, including the common encodings.
Also consider: canonical path validation
Based on the weakness type only; no CVE-specific evidence yet. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Is CVE-2021-43798 being exploited?
Yes. CVE-2021-43798 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.
How severe is CVE-2021-43798?
CVE-2021-43798 is rated High with a CVSS score of 7.5. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2021-43798?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2021-43798. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2021-43798 affect?
CVE-2021-43798 affects grafana:grafana. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
- affected>= 8.0.0 and < 8.0.7
- affected>= 8.1.0 and < 8.1.8
- affected>= 8.2.0 and < 8.2.7
- affected= 8.3.0
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.
public exploits
Public exploit code: 1 on Exploit-DB · 1 Metasploit module · 59 GitHub proofs of concept · 1 Nuclei template
- Grafana 8.3.0 - Directory Traversal and Arbitrary File Read · webapps · 9 Dec 2021
- auxiliary/scanner/http/grafana_plugin_traversal · auxiliary · normal
- Grafana v8.x - Arbitrary File Read · detection template · high
- jas502n/Grafana-CVE-2021-43798 · 370 ★
- A-D-Team/grafanaExp · 270 ★
- pedrohavay/exploit-grafana-CVE-2021-43798 · 46 ★
- taythebot/CVE-2021-43798 · 43 ★
Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.
cisa ssvc
- exploitation
- active
- automatable
- yes
- technical impact
- partial
Assessed by CISA 9 Oct 2025 (SSVC 2.0.3).
timeline
- 6 Dec 2021First public exploit or proof of concept
- 7 Dec 2021Published · 2 days later
- 9 Oct 2025Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild) · 1,401 days (about 4 years) later
- 9 Oct 2025CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active · same day later
- 21 Oct 2025CVE record last updated · 13 days later
- 30 Oct 2025CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies) · 8 days later
- 2 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com · 369 days (about 1 year) later
- Linkgithub.com /grafana/grafana/security/advisories/GHSA-8pjx-jj86-j47p
- Linkgithub.com /grafana/grafana/commit/c798c0e958d15d9cc7f27c72113d572fa58545ce
- Linkpacketstormsecurity.com /files/165198/Grafana-Arbitrary-File-Reading.html
- Linkgrafana.com /blog/2021/12/08/an-update-on-0day-cve-2021-43798-grafana-directory-traversal/
- Linkpacketstormsecurity.com /files/165221/Grafana-8.3.0-Directory-Traversal-Arbitrary-File-Read.html
- Linkopenwall.com /lists/oss-security/2021/12/09/2
- Linkopenwall.com /lists/oss-security/2021/12/10/4
- Linksecurity.netapp.com /advisory/ntap-20211229-0004/
Show 1 more
- Linkcisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-43798
sources
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Exploit-DB: published exploits
- Metasploit Framework: exploit and scanner modules
- Nuclei templates: detection templates
- PoC-in-GitHub: GitHub repositories that claim a proof of concept
- Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.