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Splunk Enterprise EUVDEUVD-2026-31138

| CVE-2026-20240 MEDIUM
Improper Input Validation (CWE-20)
2026-05-20 cisco GHSA-2fmj-cw46-4vrm
6.5
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: cisco
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Authenticate to Splunk as low-privileged user
  2. Delivery
    Access splunk_archiver app functionality
  3. Exploit
    Invoke coldToFrozen.sh with crafted arbitrary path argument
  4. Execution
    Script renames critical Splunk system directory without validation
  5. Persist
    Splunk instance loses access to essential paths
  6. Impact
    Entire Splunk instance becomes non-functional

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Input validation, allowlisting
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires a valid Splunk user account that does not hold the 'admin' or 'power' role - a standard low-privileged account (e.g., user or analyst role) is sufficient. The CVSS vector PR:L confirms authenticated but low-privilege access is required; unauthenticated exploitation is not possible. The attacker must be able to reach the Splunk instance over the network (AV:N) and invoke functionality associated with the splunk_archiver app's coldToFrozen.sh script. No special non-default configuration is described as required - the splunk_archiver app is a bundled Splunk component, meaning standard deployments are likely affected. Exploitation is limited by the requirement for a valid credential: anonymous or unauthenticated attackers cannot trigger this. The impact is confined to availability only - no data exfiltration or code execution is possible via this vector.

Impact

The CVSS 6.5 score is derived from a vector of AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, indicating network-accessible exploitation requiring only low-level authentication with no user interaction and no elevated privileges beyond a standard Splunk account. The availability impact is rated High (A:H), reflecting that successful exploitation fully disables the Splunk instance. Confidentiality and integrity are unaffected (C:N/I:N), limiting the severity ceiling. The low attack complexity (AC:L) and absence of required user interaction increase the practical risk - any low-privileged Splunk user who does not hold the 'admin' or 'power' role can trigger this without relying on social engineering or race conditions. No EPSS score was provided in the source data, which limits quantitative exploitation probability assessment. No CISA KEV listing and no POC code are identified, suggesting no confirmed widespread exploitation at time of analysis. The realistic priority is moderate-to-high in environments with many low-privileged Splunk users, shared Splunk instances, or where Splunk is critical SIEM infrastructure - a single authenticated user could take down enterprise-wide logging and detection capabilities. The vulnerability is less acute in tightly controlled deployments where Splunk access is restricted to trusted analysts.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker with a low-privileged Splunk account (e.g., a read-only analyst account without 'admin' or 'power' roles) authenticates to the Splunk web interface or REST API and triggers the coldToFrozen.sh script within the splunk_archiver app, supplying a crafted arbitrary file path pointing to a critical Splunk system directory such as the configuration or dispatch directory. The script renames the targeted directory without validation, causing Splunk to lose access to essential runtime paths and become non-functional. No public proof-of-concept code has been identified at time of analysis, but the primitive - passing a malicious path argument to an unvalidated shell script - is straightforward to construct from the public description.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – May 20, 2026

Denial of Service in Splunk Enterprise and Splunk Cloud Platform allows a low-privileged authenticated user to render the entire instance non-functional by exploiting missing input validation in the coldToFrozen.sh script bundled with the splunk_archiver app. The script accepts arbitrary file paths and renames them without restricting operations to safe directories, enabling renaming of critical Splunk system directories. No public exploit or CISA KEV listing has been identified at time of analysis, but the low privilege requirement (PR:L per CVSS) makes this actionable for any authenticated non-admin user in multi-tenant or enterprise deployments. A vendor patch is available via advisory SVD-2026-0504.

RemediationAI

Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to the patched releases: 9.3.12, 9.4.11, 10.0.5, or 10.2.2 depending on the branch in use. Splunk Cloud Platform customers should ensure their instances are running 9.3.2411.129, 10.0.2503.13, 10.1.2507.21, 10.2.2510.11, 10.3.2512.9, or 10.4.2603.1 or later. Vendor patch is confirmed available via Splunk advisory SVD-2026-0504 at https://advisory.splunk.com/advisories/SVD-2026-0504. If immediate patching is not feasible, a compensating control is to revoke access to the splunk_archiver app for all non-administrative users - this restricts which users can invoke the coldToFrozen.sh script, though it may impact legitimate archiving workflows. Additionally, consider restricting Splunk role assignments so that only trusted users hold any Splunk account, reducing the population of potential attackers. Note that these workarounds do not eliminate the underlying vulnerability and patching remains the definitive fix.

Affected VersionsENISA

Splunk Cloud Platform 10.1.2507 <10.1.2507.21
Splunk Cloud Platform 10.3.2512 <10.3.2512.9
Splunk Enterprise 10.0 <10.0.5
Splunk Cloud Platform 9.3.2411 <9.3.2411.129
Splunk Cloud Platform 10.2.2510 <10.2.2510.11
Splunk Cloud Platform 10.4.2603 <10.4.2603.1
Splunk Enterprise 10.2 <10.2.2
Splunk Enterprise 9.3 <9.3.12
Splunk Enterprise 9.4 <9.4.11
Splunk Cloud Platform 10.0.2503 <10.0.2503.13

Affected Packages

euvd splunk_cloud_platform fix: 9.3.2411.129, 10.0.2503.13, 10.1.2507.21, 10.2.2510.11, 10.3.2512.9, 10.4.2603.1
euvd splunk_enterprise fix: 9.3.12, 9.4.11, 10.0.5, 10.2.2

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 2 packages in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The coldToFrozen.sh shell script is part of Splunk's splunk_archiver application, which manages the data lifecycle by transitioning index buckets from cold storage to frozen (archived or deleted) states. The vulnerability is rooted in CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation): the script accepts a user-supplied file path argument and performs a rename operation on it without enforcing any path restriction or allowlist to confine operations to legitimate data directories. This means an attacker can supply an absolute path targeting critical Splunk configuration or runtime directories outside the archiver's intended scope. Affected products are confirmed via CPE strings cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk_enterprise and cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk_cloud_platform across multiple version branches. The root cause is a missing directory traversal guard in a privileged shell script executed in the context of the Splunk process, rather than a memory corruption or injection issue.

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Severity by source

Vendor (cisco) PRIMARY 6.5 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Primary rating from Vendor (cisco) · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorVendor: cisco

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

3
Severity Changed
May 20, 2026 - 18:22 NVD
HIGH MEDIUM
CVSS changed
May 20, 2026 - 18:22 NVD
7.1 (HIGH) 6.5 (MEDIUM)
Patch available
May 20, 2026 - 18:02 EUVD

DescriptionCVE.org

In Splunk Enterprise versions below 10.2.2, 10.0.5, 9.4.11, and 9.3.12, and Splunk Cloud Platform versions below 10.4.2603.1, 10.3.2512.9, 10.2.2510.11, 10.1.2507.21, 10.0.2503.13, and 9.3.2411.129, a low-privileged user that does not hold the ‘admin’ or ‘power’ Splunk roles could cause a Denial of Service by exploiting the coldToFrozen.sh script in the splunk_archiver app to rename critical Splunk directories, making the instance non-functional.<br><br>The Denial of Service is possible because of missing input validation in the coldToFrozen.sh script, which accepts arbitrary file paths and renames them without restricting operations to safe directories.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 87% exploitable
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

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.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

32
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +32
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

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