What is CVE-2021-43798?

CVE-2021-43798 is a high-severity vulnerability in Grafana, classified under Path Traversal. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2021-12-07.

How severe is CVE-2021-43798?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.

Is CVE-2021-43798 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2021-43798 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2025-10-09), indicating it is being actively exploited. 213 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.

Path Traversal in Grafana

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.

Vulnerability class: Path Traversal (Directory Traversal)

EPSS: 0.885 (99.8th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.

Affected products

Grafana — versions 8.3.0, 8.0.0, >= 8.1.0, < 8.1.8

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-22 — Path Traversal

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2025-10-09. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2025-10-30.

Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

security-advisories@github.com (x_refsource_CONFIRM, Patch, Vendor Advisory)
security-advisories@github.com (Patch, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC)
security-advisories@github.com (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC)
security-advisories@github.com (x_refsource_CONFIRM, Vendor Advisory)
security-advisories@github.com (Exploit, VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC)
security-advisories@github.com (mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST, Patch, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
security-advisories@github.com (mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST, Patch, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
security-advisories@github.com (x_refsource_CONFIRM, Third Party Advisory)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (US Government Resource)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-43798?: CVE-2021-43798 is a high-severity vulnerability in Grafana, classified under Path Traversal. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2021-12-07.
How severe is CVE-2021-43798?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.
Is CVE-2021-43798 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2021-43798 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2025-10-09), indicating it is being actively exploited. 213 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.