1. Introduction
The Grafana Labs WebUI Default Credentials vulnerability involves the use of default administrator credentials for the Grafana Labs application hosted on a remote web server. This allows an attacker to gain administrative access, potentially compromising sensitive data and system configurations. Systems running vulnerable versions of Grafana Labs are affected. A successful exploit could lead to confidentiality, integrity, and availability loss.
2. Technical Explanation
The vulnerability occurs because the default administrator account in Grafana Labs is shipped with a known username and password. An attacker can use these credentials to log in without authentication. There are no preconditions beyond network access to the web server running Grafana Labs.
- Root cause: Use of hardcoded, default administrator credentials.
- Exploit mechanism: An attacker attempts to login using the default username and password.
- Scope: Grafana Labs WebUI installations with default credentials.
3. Detection and Assessment
You can confirm if a system is vulnerable by checking the version of Grafana Labs installed and verifying whether the default admin account exists.
- Quick checks: Access the Grafana web interface and attempt to log in with username ‘admin’ and password ‘admin’.
- Scanning: Nessus vulnerability ID 14409426 can detect this issue. This is an example only, other scanners may also identify it.
- Logs and evidence: Check Grafana logs for successful logins using the default ‘admin’ account.
# No command available to directly check credentials without attempting login.4. Solution / Remediation Steps
The solution is to change the default admin login credentials immediately. This prevents unauthorized access and protects your Grafana Labs application.
4.1 Preparation
- No services need to be stopped for this remediation.
4.2 Implementation
- Step 1: Log in to Grafana Labs with the default admin credentials (username ‘admin’, password ‘admin’).
- Step 2: Navigate to Configuration > Basic Auth.
- Step 3: Change the username and password for the admin account.
- Step 4: Save the changes.
4.3 Config or Code Example
Before
Username: admin
Password: adminAfter
Username: [New Username]
Password: [Strong New Password]4.4 Security Practices Relevant to This Vulnerability
Several security practices can help prevent this issue.
- Practice 1: Safe defaults – Avoid shipping products with default credentials.
- Practice 2: Least privilege – Limit the permissions of any default accounts.
4.5 Automation (Optional)
No automation is recommended for this specific vulnerability due to the need for secure password management and potential disruption if automated incorrectly.
5. Verification / Validation
- Post-fix check: Attempt to login using username ‘admin’ and the original password. The login should fail.
- Re-test: Repeat the quick checks from section 3; the attempt to login with default credentials should now fail.
- Smoke test: Verify that you can log in with the new admin credentials. Also, confirm other user accounts (if any) still function correctly.
- Monitoring: Check Grafana logs for failed login attempts using the default ‘admin’ account.
# No command available to directly check credentials without attempting login.6. Preventive Measures and Monitoring
Update security baselines and policies to enforce strong password requirements and discourage the use of default credentials.
- Baselines: Update your security baseline to include a requirement for changing default credentials on all new systems.
- Pipelines: Consider using configuration scanning tools in CI/CD pipelines to detect default credentials.
- Asset and patch process: Regularly review system configurations for known vulnerabilities, including default credentials.
7. Risks, Side Effects, and Roll Back
Changing the admin password could temporarily disrupt access if the new credentials are forgotten or lost.
- Risk or side effect 1: Loss of admin access if the new password is not remembered. Mitigation: Document the new password securely.
- Roll back: Restore the backed-up Grafana configuration to revert to the original settings, including default credentials.
8. References and Resources
Links related to this vulnerability.
- Vendor advisory or bulletin: http://www.nessus.org/u?14409426