External risk intelligence

Grafana Enterprise RCE via SQL Expressions and Plugin Chained Attack.

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.1)

CVE-2026-27876

Grafana is commonly deployed as an internet-facing or externally accessible dashboard and data visualization platform. While the vulnerability requires a specific feature toggle to be enabled, the application itself is typically positioned as a web-accessible service, making it likely to be reachable from the internet in many deployments.

Code Injection

Grafana

before 11.6.011.6.14 to before 12.0.012.1.10 to before 12.2.012.2.8 to before 12.3.012.3.6 to before 12.4.0

Halo Surface Signal: 4 out of 5 — likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

A critical vulnerability has been identified in certain Grafana Enterprise plugin configurations that, when chained with another feature, could allow for remote code execution. This means an attacker could potentially gain control of the affected systems. The core issue stems from how SQL Expressions are handled within these plugins, and while not all Grafana instances are impacted, confirming relevance and exposure is the primary concern for leadership.

Code could be run remotely on affected systems.
Critical system access is a high-level business risk.
Confirm relevance and exposure of affected systems.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An attacker could chain together vulnerabilities in SQL Expressions and a Grafana Enterprise plugin to achieve remote code execution. This path begins with an attacker gaining privileged access to a Grafana instance where the `sqlExpressions` feature is enabled. By exploiting these components in sequence, an attacker could potentially run arbitrary code on the server.

Requires authenticated access and feature enabled.
Chained SQL expressions and plugin vulnerability.
Remote code execution.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

When the `sqlExpressions` feature is enabled, a chained attack targeting Grafana Enterprise plugins could lead to remote code execution. This could affect the integrity and availability of the Grafana service.

Grafana service integrity and availability.
Chained attack via SQL expressions and plugin.
Potential for unauthorized code execution.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

Application owners and platform teams are likely responsible for addressing this vulnerability in Grafana Enterprise instances. The first practical step is to identify all Grafana deployments, confirm if the `sqlExpressions` feature toggle is enabled, assess reachability and business criticality, and then plan remediation based on the identified risk.

Confirm Grafana deployment ownership and enablement.
Verify `sqlExpressions` feature and reachability.
Plan remediation based on risk and impact.

Supplementary metadata

CVSS vector

Validate whether this threat affects your internet-facing exposure.

Halo Threat Intelligence helps prioritize remediation with Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context. Start exposure validation with a free external attack surface trial.

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Frequently asked questions

What is Grafana and why is this software used?

Grafana is a widely used platform for data visualization, monitoring, and analysis. It allows users to query, visualize, and alert on metrics and logs from various data sources in real-time. It is essentially a central hub where teams build dashboards to track the health and performance of their infrastructure, applications, and business data.

What kind of vulnerability is CVE-2026-27876?

This vulnerability is classified as an Injection and Code Injection issue (CWE-89 and CWE-94). It allows an attacker to run arbitrary, unauthorized code on the server hosting Grafana. By chaining together specific weaknesses in SQL Expressions and a plugin, an attacker can bypass security controls to execute commands that they should not have permission to run, potentially taking over the system.

Does my Grafana instance definitely trigger this bug?

Not necessarily. The vulnerability only triggers if the 'sqlExpressions' feature toggle is specifically enabled in your Grafana configuration. If this feature is turned off, the path for this chained attack is closed. Additionally, your instance must be running one of the specific software versions listed in the security advisory; instances using older or newer unaffected versions remain safe from this particular flaw.

How do I know if my server is reachable by attackers?

Halo Surface Signal indicates that Grafana is frequently deployed as an internet-facing dashboard. Because it is often accessible via the web, an attacker might be able to reach your instance directly from the internet. You should determine if your specific deployment is exposed externally or if it is strictly limited to an internal, private network, as external reachability increases the risk profile for this vulnerability.

What should I do first to manage this risk?

Begin by auditing your Grafana inventory to identify which instances are currently active. Check the configuration of those instances to see if the 'sqlExpressions' feature toggle is enabled. If it is, verify your current version against the affected ranges provided in the advisory and prioritize updating those systems to a patched release. Ensure you also review the access controls for these dashboards to limit the potential for unauthorized administrative usage.

References

Written by Nicholas Merritt

Nicholas Merritt is VP of Security Solutions at Halo Security. With more than 25 years across application security, vulnerability prioritization, and offensive security, he helps teams translate threat data into practical exposure validation and remediation focus. He authors Halo Threat Intelligence CVE advisories using Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context to prioritize internet-facing risk.