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Splunk Enterprise EUVDEUVD-2026-63120

| CVE-2026-76313 HIGH
Improper Access Control (CWE-284)
2026-08-19 cisco GHSA-23wv-2qr9-wf5v
8.8
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 with low-privilege Splunk account
  2. Delivery
    Craft malicious knowledge bundle with embedded payload
  3. Exploit
    Upload bundle via unguarded REST API endpoint (no edit_dist_peer check)
  4. Execution
    Invoke distributed search referencing malicious bundle
  5. Persist
    Search peers execute malicious bundle content
  6. Impact
    Achieve RCE on search peers with full data access

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Access control enforcement
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Defense Evasion

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires a valid Splunk Enterprise user account that does not hold the admin or power role - any standard or lower-privilege role is sufficient. The target Splunk deployment must be configured with distributed search (search heads connected to one or more search peers), as the attack leverages the knowledge bundle replication mechanism specific to that architecture. The Splunk REST API endpoint (default port 8089) must be reachable by the attacker. Unauthenticated exploitation is not possible per the PR:L CVSS vector. Single-instance Splunk deployments without distributed search are not exposed to this specific execution path. Non-default configurations that explicitly restrict the knowledge bundle REST endpoint to admin/power users via network controls would limit exposure but are not the default posture.

Impact

The CVSS 8.8 score (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) accurately reflects the real-world risk profile: network-accessible, low complexity, requiring only a valid (non-privileged) account, with no user interaction needed and full impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The PR:L vector is significant - exploitation is not limited to misconfigured environments but is available to any authenticated user including service accounts, trial accounts, or compromised analyst credentials. The attack is automatable (AC:L, UI:N) against any Splunk deployment using distributed search. No EPSS data was available in the provided intelligence sources. No CISA KEV listing and no public POC have been identified, meaning active exploitation is not confirmed, but the low complexity and broad authentication surface elevate urgency. The exploitation path leverages a legitimate Splunk feature (knowledge bundle replication), which may reduce detectability via standard alerting. Single-instance deployments without distributed search are not exposed to this specific execution vector.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker with a low-privilege Splunk account (e.g., a compromised analyst credential or a service account without admin/power roles) crafts a malicious knowledge bundle containing a payload designed to execute arbitrary commands on search peers. The attacker submits the bundle to the unguarded REST API upload endpoint and then invokes a distributed search query, specifying the malicious bundle as the knowledge source. Splunk's distributed search subsystem - which does not re-validate the caller's capability - distributes and executes the bundle across search peers, granting the attacker RCE and access to all indexed data. No public exploit code has been identified, but the REST API surface is well-documented, lowering the barrier to independent exploit development.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.5% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Aug 19, 2026

Remote code execution in Splunk Enterprise allows any authenticated low-privilege user (without admin or power roles) to upload a malicious knowledge bundle via the REST API and force distributed search to execute it across search peers, achieving full C/I/A compromise. The root cause is a missing authorization check - the REST API endpoint for knowledge bundle uploads does not enforce the required edit_dist_peer capability, and distributed search blindly honors caller-supplied bundle selections. No public exploit or CISA KEV listing has been identified at time of analysis, but the low authentication bar (any valid Splunk account suffices) and network-accessible attack surface make this a high-priority patching target in enterprise environments.

RemediationAI

Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to the patched releases - 10.4.2, 10.2.6, 10.0.9, or 9.4.14 - as specified in vendor advisory SVD-2026-0801 at https://advisory.splunk.com/advisories/SVD-2026-0801. As a compensating control prior to patching, administrators should audit all non-admin/non-power Splunk user accounts and revoke unnecessary access, particularly for shared or service accounts, to reduce the attacker pool; note this does not eliminate the vulnerability but shrinks the exposure surface. Where operationally feasible, restrict network access to the Splunk REST API (default port 8089) to trusted hosts only using host-based or network firewall rules - this prevents unauthenticated lateral movement from compromised internal hosts but adds operational overhead for legitimate API consumers. Enabling detailed REST API audit logging will help detect anomalous knowledge bundle upload attempts while patching is pending.

Affected VersionsENISA

Splunk Enterprise 10.0 <10.0.9
Splunk Enterprise 9.4 <9.4.14
Splunk Enterprise 10.4 <10.4.2
Splunk Enterprise 10.2 <10.2.6

Affected Packages

euvd splunk_enterprise fix: 9.4.14, 10.0.9, 10.2.6, 10.4.2

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

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

Technical ContextAI · show details

Splunk Enterprise's distributed search architecture replicates knowledge bundles - packages containing lookups, field extractions, and other search-time knowledge objects - from search heads to search peers. The exploit path exploits CWE-284 (Improper Access Control): the REST API endpoint responsible for knowledge bundle uploads fails to require the edit_dist_peer capability, which is normally gated to admin and power roles. Additionally, the distributed search subsystem accepts caller-supplied knowledge bundle selections without validating that the caller holds the necessary privilege. By combining these two gaps, a low-privilege user can inject a weaponized bundle into the distributed search flow and trigger its execution on search peers. Affected product CPE is cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk_enterprise:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* across the 9.4, 10.0, 10.2, and 10.4 branches. The vulnerability was reported by Cisco.

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Severity by source

Vendor (cisco) PRIMARY 8.8 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 8.8 HIGH

PR:L confirmed by description (any authenticated non-admin/power user); AV:N because REST API is network-exposed; full C/I/A from RCE on search peers.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (cisco).

CVSS VectorVendor: cisco

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

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Patch available
Aug 19, 2026 - 22:04 EUVD
CVE Published
Aug 19, 2026 - 21:34 cve.org
HIGH 8.8

DescriptionCVE.org

In Splunk Enterprise versions below 10.4.2, 10.2.6, 10.0.9, and 9.4.14, a user who does not hold the "admin" or "power" Splunk roles could perform Remote Code Execution (RCE) by uploading a malicious knowledge bundle and causing it to be used by distributed search, which can allow for access to all relevant data and affect system integrity and availability. The vulnerability is possible because the Representational State Transfer (REST) API endpoint for knowledge bundle upload does not require the high-privilege capability edit_dist_peer, and distributed search accepts caller-supplied knowledge bundle selections from users who do not hold that capability. For more information see What search heads send to search peers (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/distributed-search/9.2/knowledge-bundle-replication/what-search-heads-send-to-search-peers), About configuring role-based user access (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/manage-users-and-security/9.0/manage-splunk-platform-users-and-roles/about-configuring-role-based-user-access), Define roles on the Splunk platform with capabilities (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/manage-users-and-security/9.1/manage-splunk-platform-users-and-roles/define-roles-on-the-splunk-platform-with-capabilities), and Using the REST API reference (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/rest-api-reference/10.4/introduction/using-the-rest-api-reference) in the Splunk documentation.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Splunk Enterprise contains a critical remote code execution vulnerability in distributed search that allows any authenticated user to execute arbitrary code across all search peers and achieve full system compromise. No public exploit code has been identified, but the low authentication requirements and network-accessible attack surface make this a high-priority patch target for organizations using Splunk for security and log operations.

Business Impact: Severe
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.5%
Top 59% exploitable
Prevalence
High
widely deployed enterprise SIEM and observability platform
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

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 HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.5%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
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
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact
Very High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

44
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +44
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.

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