Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessAuthenticate as low-privileged Splunk user
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ExploitRead search job logs for cluster identifier
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ExecutionDerive PostgreSQL sidecar superuser password
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ImpactExecute OS commands as Splunk service account
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A04:2025 - Cryptographic Failures
ASVS 5.0
V11 - Cryptography Key management, no hard-coded keys
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| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires (1) a Splunk Enterprise version below 10.4.4 or below 10.2.8, (2) a search head cluster (SHC) deployment where the PostgreSQL sidecar service is running, and (3) a valid but low-privileged Splunk account that does NOT hold the 'admin' or 'power' roles. The concrete prerequisite named in the description is that the SHC identifier appears in search job logs the user can read, from which the sidecar's privileged database password is deterministically derived. Limiting factors: the attacker must be authenticated (PR:L), and the flaw is confined to search head cluster members running the sidecar - standalone or non-SHC Splunk deployments and versions at/above the fixed releases are not exposed. No user interaction and no elevated role are required beyond basic authenticated access. |
| Impact | This is a credible operational priority for any organization running Splunk Enterprise in a search head cluster (SHC) configuration, though not an emergency across all Splunk deployments. The vendor CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N) and score of 8.8 indicate a network-reachable, low-complexity attack requiring only low privileges - consistent with the description, which states any authenticated user WITHOUT the 'admin' or 'power' roles can exploit it. The high-privilege outcome (C:H/I:H/A:H) is justified: deriving the PostgreSQL sidecar superuser password yields arbitrary OS command execution as the Splunk service account, a full privilege escalation from a low-rights application user to host-level code execution. CWE-321 (use of a hard-coded/derivable cryptographic key) matches the root cause - the DB password is deterministically derived from the SHC identifier that leaks into search job logs. Mitigating the urgency: there is no KEV listing, no public exploit code identified, and no EPSS score provided, so there is currently no evidence of active or widespread exploitation. The attack is also scoped to SHC members with the PostgreSQL sidecar in use, not every Splunk instance. Note one metric worth verifying: the vendor rated Scope Unchanged (S:U), but because the exploit crosses from the Splunk authorization context to arbitrary OS command execution on the host account, a Scope Changed (S:C) argument is defensible - verify with Splunk if precise scoring matters. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A low-privileged but authenticated Splunk user (lacking admin/power roles) on a search head cluster inspects search job logs, which expose the search head cluster identifier. Because the PostgreSQL sidecar derives its superuser password from that identifier, the attacker reconstructs the password, connects to the sidecar database, and leverages it to run arbitrary operating system commands as the account running Splunk Enterprise. No public proof-of-concept exploit has been identified at the time of analysis, but the described technique is deterministic and does not require special timing or user interaction. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 21, 2026
Authenticated low-privileged Splunk Enterprise users can escalate to arbitrary OS command execution on search head cluster members by reconstructing the PostgreSQL sidecar superuser password. The password is deterministically derived from the search head cluster identifier, which surfaces in search job logs readable by users who do not hold the 'admin' or 'power' roles. Deployments below 10.4.4 and below 10.2.8 are affected where a search head cluster runs the PostgreSQL sidecar service; no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, but the flaw carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and warrants prompt patching in SHC environments.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade to Splunk Enterprise 10.4.4 or 10.2.8 (or a later release) on every search head cluster member, as documented in Splunk advisory SVD-2026-1007 (https://advisory.splunk.com/advisories/SVD-2026-1007). Because the vulnerable credential is derived rather than stored, upgrading is the only complete fix; where immediate upgrade is not possible, treat the sidecar database password as compromised and reduce exposure. Practical compensating controls, each with trade-offs, include disabling the PostgreSQL sidecar service on search head cluster members where it is not operationally required (this removes the attack path but breaks sidecar-dependent functionality), restricting which roles can view search job contents so the SHC identifier is not exposed to low-privileged accounts (this limits the disclosure vector but degrades troubleshooting and audit workflows for those users), and hardening the sidecar's network surface by allowing connections only from the local Splunk processes and trusted management hosts (this reduces lateral reach but requires firewall and configuration change control). Additionally, rotate any credentials associated with the sidecar and review Splunk accounts that hold neither 'admin' nor 'power' but can read job logs, since those are the accounts positioned to exploit the flaw.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
The root cause class is CWE-321 (Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key): rather than generating a random, per-instance secret, the PostgreSQL sidecar service derives its privileged database superuser password from the search head cluster (SHC) identifier. That identifier is not a secret - it is written into search job logs that ordinary authenticated Splunk users can read, so a low-privileged account that is deliberately excluded from the 'admin' and 'power' roles can recover the identifier and reproduce the same derivation logic to obtain the sidecar superuser credential. Because a PostgreSQL superuser on the sidecar can execute server-side commands (for example via COPY ... FROM PROGRAM or comparable superuser-only facilities), possession of that credential crosses the database boundary into operating-system command execution under the account that runs Splunk Enterprise on the SHC member. The exposure is architectural rather than input-validation driven: standalone Splunk deployments and clusters without the sidecar service running do not present this path, which limits the blast radius to search head cluster members with the sidecar enabled. The vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N) indicates the attack is network-reachable, requires no user interaction, and needs only a valid basic account, but does require prior authentication, so external unauthenticated attackers cannot exploit it directly without first obtaining credentials.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Network-reachable Splunk service, low complexity and no special config beyond SHC/sidecar, requires an authenticated low-privilege account (PR:L), yielding OS command execution for full C/I/A impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (cisco).
CVSS VectorVendor: cisco
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
In Splunk Enterprise versions below 10.4.4 and 10.2.8, a user who does not hold the "admin" or "power" Splunk roles could derive the PostgreSQL sidecar database superuser password and run arbitrary operating system commands as the user account running Splunk Enterprise on search head cluster members. The vulnerability is possible because the PostgreSQL sidecar service derives a privileged database password from the search head cluster identifier that appears in search job logs. For more information see About configuring role-based user access (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/manage-users-and-security/10.2/manage-splunk-platform-users-and-roles/about-configuring-role-based-user-access), server.conf (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/admin-manual/10.2/configuration-file-reference/10.2.0-configuration-file-reference/server.conf), and Sidecar configuration settings (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/admin-manual/10.4/splunk-sidecars/sidecar-configuration-settings) in the Splunk documentation.
Executive ViewAI
Splunk Enterprise search head cluster deployments face a high-severity privilege-escalation risk that could allow a routine authenticated user to execute operating-system commands on critical search infrastructure, threatening the confidentiality and integrity of enterprise telemetry. Security operations, IT, and compliance teams that depend on Splunk for monitoring and reporting should care because compromise of a search head could undermine detection confidence, expose sensitive indexed data, and disrupt security analytics. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and no vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis, so exposure reduction depends on access controls and upgrade planning.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis; restrict search job log visibility and low-privileged SHC access to trusted roles, limit network access to the PostgreSQL sidecar, monitor for anomalous OS command execution, and evaluate sidecar credential or cluster identifier rotation with vendor guidance.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.
The (1) TLS and (2) DTLS implementations in OpenSSL 1.0.1 before 1.0.1g do not properly handle Heartbeat Extension packe
Unauthenticated arbitrary file write in Splunk Enterprise (below 10.2.4 and 10.0.7) and Splunk Cloud Platform (below 10.
curl 7.75.0 through 7.76.1 suffers from a use-after-free vulnerability resulting in already freed memory being used when
curl < 7.84.0 supports "chained" HTTP compression algorithms, meaning that a serverresponse can be compressed multiple t
In Splunk Enterprise versions below 9.2.2, 9.1.5, and 9.0.10, a low-privileged user that does not hold the admin or powe
In Splunk Enterprise versions below 9.0.7 and 9.1.2, Splunk Enterprise does not safely sanitize extensible stylesheet la
In versions of Splunk Enterprise below 9.0.5, 8.2.11, and 8.1.14, and Splunk Cloud Platform below version 9.0.2303.100,
In Splunk Enterprise versions below 8.2.9, 8.1.12, and 9.0.2, an authenticated user can execute arbitrary code through t
When curl < 7.84.0 saves cookies, alt-svc and hsts data to local files, it makes the operation atomic by finalizing the
SQLite 1.0.12 through 3.39.x before 3.39.2 sometimes allows an array-bounds overflow if billions of bytes are used in a
A vulnerability exists in curl <7.87.0 HSTS check that could be bypassed to trick it to keep using HTTP. Rated high seve
When doing HTTP(S) transfers, libcurl might erroneously use the read callback (`CURLOPT_READFUNCTION`) to ask for data t
EUVD-2026-107653
GHSA-jj4w-fcgh-mh9q
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB