How severe is CVE-2021-39226?

CVE-2021-39226 has a CVSS score of 7.3/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-39226?

CVE-2021-39226 affects the following packages: github.com/grafana/grafana (Go), github.com/grafana/grafana (Go). Ecosystems affected: Go.

How do I fix CVE-2021-39226?

Update github.com/grafana/grafana to version 7.5.11 or later. Run your dependency manager's update command and verify no transitive dependencies pin the vulnerable version. Use O3 Security's SCA scanner to confirm the fix is applied across your entire dependency tree.

Is CVE-2021-39226 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 3 known exploit references for CVE-2021-39226, including 3 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2021-39226?

CVE-2021-39226 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 94.3%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Is CVE-2021-39226 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2021-39226 (Grafana Authentication Bypass Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2022-08-25. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2022-09-15. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2021-39226?

CVE-2021-39226 is classified as Improper Authentication (CWE-287), CWE-862 (CWE-862). These weakness types describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

Is there exploit tooling available for CVE-2021-39226?

A Nuclei detection template exists for CVE-2021-39226, meaning automated scanners can fingerprint it. Public exploit tooling significantly increases real-world risk — prioritize patching and ensure detection coverage. Exploit tooling should only ever be used in isolated, authorized testing environments.

When was CVE-2021-39226 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-39226 was published on October 5, 2021 and was last updated on April 10, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CISA KEV·Added 2022-08-25 — agencies required to remediate by 2022-09-15

🐹 Go

CVE-2021-39226

HIGH

Authentication bypass for viewing and deletions of snapshots

Also known asBIT-grafana-2021-39226GHSA-69j6-29vr-p3j9

Published

Oct 5, 2021

Updated

Apr 10, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

2 / 2

Exploits

3 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

94.3%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk100th percentile0.00%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Blast Radius

2 pkgs affected

🐹github.com/grafana/grafana🐹github.com/grafana/grafana

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Grafana is an open source data visualization platform. In affected versions unauthenticated and authenticated users are able to view the snapshot with the lowest database key by accessing the literal paths: /dashboard/snapshot/:key, or /api/snapshots/:key. If the snapshot "public_mode" configuration setting is set to true (vs default of false), unauthenticated users are able to delete the snapshot with the lowest database key by accessing the literal path: /api/snapshots-delete/:deleteKey. Regardless of the snapshot "public_mode" setting, authenticated users are able to delete the snapshot with the lowest database key by accessing the literal paths: /api/snapshots/:key, or /api/snapshots-delete/:deleteKey. The combination of deletion and viewing enables a complete walk through all snapshot data while resulting in complete snapshot data loss. This issue has been resolved in versions 8.1.6 and 7.5.11. If for some reason you cannot upgrade you can use a reverse proxy or similar to block access to the literal paths: /api/snapshots/:key, /api/snapshots-delete/:deleteKey, /dashboard/snapshot/:key, and /api/snapshots/:key. They have no normal function and can be disabled without side effects.

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐹Go	`github.com/grafana/grafana`	all versions	7.5.11
🐹Go	`github.com/grafana/grafana`	≥ 8.0.0&&< 8.1.6	8.1.6

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

Grafana is an open source data visualization platform. In affected versi…

unit42.paloaltonetworks.comAPIAug 2022

Grafana is an open source data visualization platform. In affected versi…

cisa.govCISAAug 2022

Grafana is an open source data visualization platform. In affected versi…

github.comNVDJun 2024

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-39226 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2021-39226 across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my stack How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

7.3/10

CVSS v3 base score

Vector breakdown

AV:Attack Vector

Network

AC:Attack Complexity

Low

PR:Privileges Required

None

UI:User Interaction