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Splunk disclosed and patched CVE-2024-45734, an image file disclosure vulnerability in Splunk Enterprise that allowed low-privileged users without admin or power roles to view images stored on the host machine through the PDF export feature in classic dashboards. The issue affected versions 9.3.0, 9.2.3, and 9.1.6, creating a path for unauthorized access to locally referenced image content embedded in dashboards using version 1.1 and <img> tags.
Splunk Threat Research had published a detection to help defenders identify possible exploitation by hunting for generated PDFs tied to classic dashboards and looking for indicators such as localhost image paths, but that content was later removed after the flaw was patched in current releases. The exposure aligns with attacker tradecraft described in MITRE ATT&CK T1087 Account Discovery, where adversaries abuse accessible interfaces, built-in tools, or misconfigurations to gather information that can support follow-on compromise and privilege abuse.
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Splunk Threat Research removed the hunting detection "Splunk Image File Disclosure via PDF Export in Classic Dashboard" from its content library in version 5.6.0 because the associated vulnerability had been patched. The content was updated on 2026-05-14.
The removed Splunk detection states that the image file disclosure issue affecting Splunk Enterprise 9.3.0, 9.2.3, and 9.1.6 had been patched in the latest Splunk release. The issue allowed low-privileged users without admin or power roles to view images on the host machine through classic dashboard PDF export.
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Splunk issued urgent fixes for **CVE-2026-20253**, a critical `CVSS 9.8` vulnerability in **Splunk Enterprise** that allows unauthenticated arbitrary file creation and truncation through a PostgreSQL sidecar service endpoint missing authentication controls. The flaw affects supported Splunk Enterprise releases prior to **10.4.0**, **10.2.4**, **10.0.7**, **9.4.12**, and **9.3.13** depending on branch, and Splunk said **Splunk Cloud is not affected** because it does not use Postgres sidecars. Splunk and national cyber authorities urged administrators to apply updates immediately, noting that no vendor detections or workarounds were initially available for the core issue. Public technical analysis from watchTowr Labs showed the bug can be reached through Splunk Web on port `8000`, which proxies requests to localhost-only PostgreSQL recovery endpoints, enabling attackers to abuse `/v1/postgres/recovery/backup` and `/restore` for filesystem access. Researchers demonstrated a full pre-auth exploitation chain that used path traversal, PostgreSQL connection-string injection, local `.pgpass` credentials, and PostgreSQL large-object export to gain arbitrary file write as the `splunk` user, then overwrite a Splunk Python script to achieve remote code execution. Splunk also disclosed additional Enterprise flaws including **CVE-2026-20251** (`CVSS 8.8`) in the Splunk Secure Gateway app due to unsafe `jsonpickle` deserialization, plus stored XSS and SSRF issues, prompting guidance to patch quickly, restrict dashboard creation and web exposure, and disable or remove vulnerable components where immediate upgrades are not possible.
Jul 23, 2026
Splunk disclosed **CVE-2026-20253**, a critical unauthenticated vulnerability in the PostgreSQL sidecar component of **Splunk Enterprise** and **Splunk Cloud Platform** that lets a network-reachable attacker create or truncate arbitrary files on the host. The flaw, tracked as **`VULN-67169`** and **`SVD-2026-0603`**, is rated **CVSS 9.8** and affects Splunk Enterprise `10.2.0` through `10.2.3` and `10.0.0` through `10.0.6`, as well as Splunk Cloud Platform versions below `10.4.2604.3` and below `10.2.2510.14`. Splunk said fixed versions are available, cloud instances are being actively patched, and no workaround exists other than upgrading. Splunk also published security content tied to **`SVD-2026-0603`** to help defenders simulate and validate detection of the exposed sidecar behavior, including replayable attack data mapped to **MITRE ATT&CK `T1210`**. Separately, the company disclosed **CVE-2026-20140**, a Windows-only local privilege-escalation flaw in Splunk Enterprise caused by DLL search-order hijacking during service startup; that issue can allow a low-privileged local user to gain **`NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM`** privileges and has been fixed in supported branches, with Splunk advising upgrades, tighter write permissions, and monitoring for suspicious DLL drops and service restarts.
Jul 13, 2026
Splunk disclosed a high-severity **remote command execution (RCE)** vulnerability, **CVE-2026-20163** (CVSS **8.0**), affecting *Splunk Enterprise* and *Splunk Cloud Platform*. The issue is a **command injection** weakness (CWE-77) in the REST endpoint `/splunkd/__upload/indexing/preview`, where user-controlled input is insufficiently sanitized during the “uploaded file preview before indexing” workflow. Exploitation requires an authenticated user whose role includes the high-privilege capability `edit_cmd`; under that condition, an attacker can abuse the `unarchive_cmd` parameter to execute arbitrary shell commands on the underlying host. Reported affected versions include Splunk Enterprise **10.0.0–10.0.3**, **9.4.0–9.4.8**, and **9.3.0–9.3.9**, plus Splunk Cloud Platform versions below **10.2.2510.5**, **10.1.2507.16**, **10.0.2503.12**, and **9.3.2411.124**; fixed thresholds are Enterprise **10.0.4**, **9.4.9**, **9.3.10**, and **10.2.0** (with the base Enterprise **10.2** release noted as not affected). The disclosure credits researcher **Danylo Dmytriiev (DDV_UA)** along with Splunk personnel **Gabriel Nitu** and **James Ervin**.
Jun 29, 2026