In Splunk Enterprise versions below 8.2.12, 9.0.6, and 9.1.1, an attacker can create an external lookup that calls a legacy internal function. The attacker can use this internal function to insert code into the Splunk platform installation directory. From there, a user can execute arbitrary code on the Splunk platform Instance.

Splunk Enterprise deployment servers in versions before 8.1.10.1, 8.2.6.1, and 9.0 let clients deploy forwarder bundles to other deployment clients through the deployment server. An attacker that compromised a Universal Forwarder endpoint could use the vulnerability to execute arbitrary code on all other Universal Forwarder endpoints subscribed to the deployment server.

Splunk Enterprise deployment servers in versions before 9.0 allow unauthenticated downloading of forwarder bundles. Remediation requires you to update the deployment server to version 9.0 and Configure authentication for deployment servers and clients (https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.0.0/Security/ConfigDSDCAuthEnhancements#Configure_authentication_for_deployment_servers_and_clients). Once enabled, deployment servers can manage only Universal Forwarder versions 9.0 and higher. Though the vulnerability does not directly affect Universal Forwarders, remediation requires updating all Universal Forwarders that the deployment server manages to version 9.0 or higher prior to enabling the remediation.

In Splunk Enterprise and Universal Forwarder versions before 9.0, the Splunk command-line interface (CLI) did not validate TLS certificates while connecting to a remote Splunk platform instance by default. After updating to version 9.0, see Configure TLS host name validation for the Splunk CLI https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.0.0/Security/EnableTLSCertHostnameValidation#Configure_TLS_host_name_validation_for_the_Splunk_CLI to enable the remediation. The vulnerability does not affect the Splunk Cloud Platform. At the time of publishing, we have no evidence of exploitation of this vulnerability by external parties. The issue requires conditions beyond the control of a potential bad actor such as a machine-in-the-middle attack. Hence, Splunk rates the complexity of the attack as High.

In universal forwarder versions before 9.0, management services are available remotely by default. When not required, it introduces a potential exposure, but it is not a vulnerability. If exposed, we recommend each customer assess the potential severity specific to your environment. In 9.0, the universal forwarder now binds the management port to localhost preventing remote logins by default. If management services are not required in versions before 9.0, set disableDefaultPort = true in server.conf OR allowRemoteLogin = never in server.conf OR mgmtHostPort = localhost in web.conf. See Configure universal forwarder management security (https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.0.0/Security/EnableTLSCertHostnameValidation#Configure_universal_forwarder_management_security) for more information on disabling the remote management services.

Dashboards in Splunk Enterprise versions before 9.0 might let an attacker inject risky search commands into a form token when the token is used in a query in a cross-origin request. The result bypasses SPL safeguards for risky commands. See New capabilities can limit access to some custom and potentially risky commands (https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.0.0/Security/SPLsafeguards#New_capabilities_can_limit_access_to_some_custom_and_potentially_risky_commands) for more information. Note that the attack is browser-based and an attacker cannot exploit it at will.

Splunk Enterprise peers in Splunk Enterprise versions before 9.0 and Splunk Cloud Platform versions before 8.2.2203 did not validate the TLS certificates during Splunk-to-Splunk communications by default. Splunk peer communications configured properly with valid certificates were not vulnerable. However, an attacker with administrator credentials could add a peer without a valid certificate and connections from misconfigured nodes without valid certificates did not fail by default. For Splunk Enterprise, update to Splunk Enterprise version 9.0 and Configure TLS host name validation for Splunk-to-Splunk communications (https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.0.0/Security/EnableTLSCertHostnameValidation) to enable the remediation.

Splunk Enterprise peers in Splunk Enterprise versions before 9.0 and Splunk Cloud Platform versions before 8.2.2203 did not validate the TLS certificates during Splunk-to-Splunk communications by default. Splunk peer communications configured properly with valid certificates were not vulnerable. However, an attacker with administrator credentials could add a peer without a valid certificate and connections from misconfigured nodes without valid certificates did not fail by default. For Splunk Enterprise, update to Splunk Enterprise version 9.0 and Configure TLS host name validation for Splunk-to-Splunk communications (https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.0.0/Security/EnableTLSCertHostnameValidation) to enable the remediation.

The httplib and urllib Python libraries that Splunk shipped with Splunk Enterprise did not validate certificates using the certificate authority (CA) certificate stores by default in Splunk Enterprise versions before 9.0 and Splunk Cloud Platform versions before 8.2.2203. Python 3 client libraries now verify server certificates by default and use the appropriate CA certificate stores for each library. Apps and add-ons that include their own HTTP libraries are not affected. For Splunk Enterprise, update to Splunk Enterprise version 9.0 and Configure TLS host name validation for Splunk-to-Splunk communications (https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.0.0/Security/EnableTLSCertHostnameValidation) to enable the remediation.

When handling a mismatched pre-authentication cookie, the application leaks the internal error message in the response, which contains the Splunk Enterprise local system path. The vulnerability impacts Splunk Enterprise versions before 8.1.0.

A misconfiguration in the node default path allows for local privilege escalation from a lower privileged user to the Splunk user in Splunk Enterprise versions before 8.1.1 on Windows.

The lack of validation of a key-value field in the Splunk-to-Splunk protocol results in a denial-of-service in Splunk Enterprise instances configured to index Universal Forwarder traffic. The vulnerability impacts Splunk Enterprise versions before 7.3.9, 8.0 versions before 8.0.9, and 8.1 versions before 8.1.3. It does not impact Universal Forwarders. When Splunk forwarding is secured using TLS or a Token, the attack requires compromising the certificate or token, or both. Implementation of either or both reduces the severity to Medium.