CVE-2022-21702 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in github.com/grafana/grafana. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for github.com/grafana/grafana — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Cross site scripting in Grafana proxy
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-21702.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-21702 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,238 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/grafana/grafana🐹github.com/grafana/grafanaReal-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 platform for monitoring and observability. In affected versions an attacker could serve HTML content thru the Grafana datasource or plugin proxy and trick a user to visit this HTML page using a specially crafted link and execute a Cross-site Scripting (XSS) attack. The attacker could either compromise an existing datasource for a specific Grafana instance or either set up its own public service and instruct anyone to set it up in their Grafana instance. To be impacted, all of the following must be applicable. For the data source proxy: A Grafana HTTP-based datasource configured with Server as Access Mode and a URL set, the attacker has to be in control of the HTTP server serving the URL of above datasource, and a specially crafted link pointing at the attacker controlled data source must be clicked on by an authenticated user. For the plugin proxy: A Grafana HTTP-based app plugin configured and enabled with a URL set, the attacker has to be in control of the HTTP server serving the URL of above app, and a specially crafted link pointing at the attacker controlled plugin must be clocked on by an authenticated user. For the backend plugin resource: An attacker must be able to navigate an authenticated user to a compromised plugin through a crafted link. Users are advised to update to a patched version. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/grafana/grafana | ≥ 2.0.0-beta1&&< 7.5.15 | 7.5.15go get github.com/grafana/grafana@v7.5.15 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/grafana/grafana | ≥ 8.0.0&&< 8.3.5 | 8.3.5go get github.com/grafana/grafana@v8.3.5 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/grafana/grafana, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/grafana/grafana to 7.5.15 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-21702 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2022-21702 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2022-21702. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | grafana-0:7.5.15-3.el8 | RHSA-2022:7519 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | grafana-0:7.5.15-3.el9 | RHSA-2022:8057 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-21702 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2022-21702 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.