VulnerabilityPublished 7 Jul 2025

CVE-2025-20325: Splunk Enterprise · The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.

Affects Splunk EnterpriseSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 3.1 Low.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 15:59 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

3.1Low

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 32% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

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

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 7 Jul 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Splunk Splunk Enterprise	Affected 9.1 – 9.4 4 affected builds	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

European organizations should immediately audit their Splunk Enterprise and Cloud Platform deployments to identify if they are running affected versions and if the SHCConfig log channel is set to DEBUG level in search head clusters. If so, the logging level should be reverted to a less verbose setting to prevent sensitive information from being logged. Access to log files and internal indexes must be strictly controlled and limited to trusted administrator roles only. Organizations should review and tighten role-based access controls (RBAC) within Splunk, ensuring that only necessary personnel have admin-level privileges. Applying the latest patches and updates from Splunk that address this vulnerability is critical once available. Additionally, organizations should monitor logs for unusual access patterns to internal indexes or log files and consider implementing file integrity monitoring on log directories to detect unauthorized access or modifications. Regular security training for administrators on secure configuration and access management in Splunk environments will further reduce risk.

Description

In Splunk Enterprise versions below 9.4.3, 9.3.5, 9.2.7, and 9.1.10, and Splunk Cloud Platform versions below 9.3.2411.103, 9.3.2408.113, and 9.2.2406.119, the software potentially exposes the search head cluster [splunk.secret](https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/manage-users-and-security/9.4/install-splunk-enterprise-securely/deploy-secure-passwords-across-multiple-servers) key. This exposure could happen if you have a Search Head cluster and you configure the Splunk Enterprise `SHCConfig` log channel at the DEBUG logging level in the clustered deployment. <br><br>The vulnerability would require either local access to the log files or administrative access to internal indexes, which by default only the admin role receives. Review roles and capabilities on your instance and restrict internal index access to administrator-level roles. <br><br>See [Define roles on the Splunk platform with capabilities](https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/latest/Security/Rolesandcapabilities), [Deploy a search head cluster](https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/distributed-search/9.4/deploy-search-head-clustering/deploy-a-search-head-cluster), [Deploy secure passwords across multiple servers](https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/manage-users-and-security/9.4/install-splunk-enterprise-securely/deploy-secure-passwords-across-multiple-servers) and [Set a security key for the search head cluster](https://help.splunk.com/splunk-enterprise/administer/distributed-search/9.4/configure-search-head-clustering/set-a-security-key-for-the-search-head-cluster#id_2c54937a_736c_47b5_9485_67e9e390acfa__Set_a_security_key_for_the_search_head_cluster) for more information.

Impact

For European organizations using affected versions of Splunk Enterprise or Splunk Cloud Platform, this vulnerability poses a confidentiality risk. If an attacker gains local file system access or administrative access to internal indexes, they could extract the search head cluster secret key, potentially undermining the security of the entire search head cluster. This could lead to unauthorized access to cluster communications or facilitate further lateral movement within the environment. Given Splunk’s widespread use in Europe for security information and event management (SIEM), log aggregation, and operational intelligence, exposure of cluster secrets could compromise the integrity of security monitoring and incident response capabilities. Organizations in regulated sectors such as finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure could face compliance risks if sensitive data is exposed. However, the requirement for elevated privileges or local access limits the likelihood of remote exploitation. The vulnerability does not directly affect system availability or data integrity but weakens the confidentiality of critical cluster secrets, which could be leveraged in more complex attack chains.

Summary

CVE-2025-20325 is a vulnerability affecting Splunk Enterprise versions prior to 9.4.3, 9.3.5, 9.2.7, and 9.1.10, as well as Splunk Cloud Platform versions below 9.3.2411.103, 9.3.2408.113, and 9.2.2406.119. The issue arises when the Splunk Enterprise Search Head Cluster (SHC) is configured with the SHCConfig log channel set to DEBUG level in a clustered deployment. Under these conditions, the software may inadvertently expose the search head cluster secret key (splunk.secret) through log files. This secret key is critical for securing communications and operations within the search head cluster. The exposure of this key could allow an unauthorized actor with access to the log files or administrative access to internal indexes to retrieve sensitive information that should be restricted. However, exploitation requires either local access to the log files or administrative privileges to internal indexes, which by default are limited to users with the admin role. The vulnerability does not require user interaction and does not directly impact integrity or availability but compromises confidentiality of sensitive cluster secrets. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 3.1, indicating a low severity primarily due to the high attack complexity and the need for privileges to exploit. The vulnerability highlights the importance of careful logging configuration and strict role-based access control within Splunk deployments. The issue is documented with references to Splunk’s official guidance on managing roles, deploying search head clusters, and securing passwords across servers. No known exploits are reported in the wild at this time.

References

advisory.splunk.com/advisories/SVD-2025-0709 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 14 Jul 2025, 21:38 UTC

Technical details

References

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