Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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ReconObtain low-privilege Splunk account
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DeliveryReach Splunk Web over network
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ExploitSubmit crafted XML to manager config route
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InstallBypass missing capability check
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C2Trigger server-side code evaluation
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ExecuteExecute arbitrary code as Splunk process
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ImpactAccess all data, disrupt integrity and availability
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Code injection prevention, sandbox exec
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Initial Access 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' Splunk role - any lower-privileged authenticated account is sufficient. Splunk Web must be enabled and network-reachable from the attacker's position; environments where Splunk Web is disabled or where the Splunk web port (default 8000/tcp) is restricted to administrator-only subnets are not directly exposed to remote exploitation. The specific trigger is submitting crafted XML content to the manager configuration route within Splunk Web. Limiting factors: unauthenticated external attackers cannot exploit this without first obtaining valid Splunk credentials; Splunk instances with Splunk Web disabled on the target node are not vulnerable via this vector. No special OS-level access, non-default feature flag, or unusual deployment topology is required beyond the above. |
| Impact | The CVSS 3.1 vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H scoring 8.8 accurately reflects the threat profile: network-exploitable, no special conditions, minimal authentication, and full C/I/A compromise. The low attack complexity signals that exploitation requires no race conditions, specific timing, or unusual target state - the attack path is deterministic once a valid low-privilege account is in hand. EPSS data was not included in the provided intelligence, so probabilistic exploitation likelihood cannot be quantified from that signal; however, the dual failure mode (both input validation and access control) presents a well-bounded, discoverable vulnerability surface. The CVE is not listed in CISA KEV and no public proof-of-concept is known at time of analysis - these are meaningful moderating factors. That said, the combination of network accessibility, low privilege bar, and full-system impact means that even a modestly resourced attacker with a standard Splunk account could achieve complete host compromise, and the remediation timeline should be treated as urgent. Cisco's discovery and disclosure adds credibility to the technical findings. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker with a standard Splunk user account - obtained through credential phishing, password reuse, or an internally provisioned account - sends a crafted HTTP request containing malicious XML to the Splunk Web Manager Configuration endpoint. Because the route does not enforce the required capability check, the request is accepted and the XML is evaluated server-side, triggering code injection. The attacker gains code execution under the Splunk process identity, enabling data exfiltration and system manipulation. No public proof-of-concept is known at time of analysis, but the attack path requires no special tooling beyond the ability to craft an HTTP request. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Aug 19, 2026
Remote code execution in Splunk Enterprise allows any authenticated low-privilege user - one who does not hold the 'admin' or 'power' role - to execute arbitrary code by submitting crafted XML content to the Splunk Web Manager Configuration endpoint. The vulnerability combines two weaknesses: server-side evaluation of manager XML expressions without sufficient input restrictions (CWE-94), and a missing capability check on the configuration route that should gate such access. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, but the low attack complexity and low privilege requirement make this a high-priority remediation target across Splunk Enterprise 9.4.x, 10.0.x, 10.2.x, and 10.4.x branches.
RemediationAI
Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to version 10.4.2, 10.2.6, 10.0.9, or 9.4.14 per the applicable branch, as documented in vendor advisory SVD-2026-0801 at https://advisory.splunk.com/advisories/SVD-2026-0801. For environments where immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to the Splunk Web port (default 8000/tcp) to trusted administrator source IPs via firewall or reverse-proxy ACL - this eliminates exposure for external or semi-trusted network segments but does not protect against insider threats with network reachability. Where Splunk Web is not operationally required on indexers or non-search-head nodes, disabling it entirely removes the attack surface on those nodes at the cost of losing web-based management on them. Additionally, audit all non-admin Splunk accounts and temporarily suspend web UI access for any accounts that do not require it, reducing the pool of accounts that could be leveraged. None of these compensating controls substitute for patching.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
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 web interface (Splunk Web) exposes a manager configuration subsystem that processes XML expressions server-side. The root cause is CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code - Code Injection): user-supplied XML fed to the manager configuration route is evaluated without adequate sanitization, allowing injection of executable content. A compounding authorization failure means the route does not enforce the capability check ordinarily required for manager-level configuration changes, making the attack surface reachable by any authenticated Splunk account regardless of role. The affected CPE is cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk_enterprise:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*, spanning the 9.4, 10.0, 10.2, and 10.4 version lines. Splunk's own documentation on configuration file evaluation (referenced in the advisory) provides context on how manager XML expressions interact with the platform internals.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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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 Web endpoint (AV:N), no special conditions (AC:L), valid low-privilege Splunk account required (PR:L); full C/I/A impact with no scope change.
Primary rating from Vendor (cisco).
CVSS VectorVendor: cisco
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.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 submitting crafted Splunk Web Manager Configuration content. The user could then access all relevant data and affect system integrity and availability. The vulnerability is possible because Splunk Web evaluates manager Extensible Markup Language expressions without sufficient input restrictions, and the associated configuration route does not require the capability expected for manager configuration changes. For more information see About configuration files (https://help.splunk.com/en/data-management/splunk-enterprise-admin-manual/10.4/administer-splunk-enterprise-with-configuration-files/about-configuration-files) in the Splunk documentation.
Executive ViewAI
Splunk Enterprise versions 9.4.x through 10.4.x are vulnerable to remote code execution by any authenticated user without admin privileges, enabling low-level account holders to execute arbitrary code. Organizations running affected Splunk deployments face immediate risk of data compromise and lateral movement from compromised user accounts or insider threats. Patching is critical to prevent exploitation through this trusted centralized logging platform.
Apply vendor patch.
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
Code injection occurs when an application accepts user input and passes it directly into a language interpreter or evaluator without proper sanitization.
Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.
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-2026-63121
GHSA-jpfq-7xhq-phhx
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB