VulnerabilityPublished 11 Mar 2026Updated 12 Mar 2026

CVE-2026-20164: Splunk Enterprise · Information Exposure

Affects Splunk EnterpriseSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium · fixed in 10.0.3 : update Splunk Enterprise when convenient.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 15% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 10.0.3, 9.4.9, 9.3.10 +4

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
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: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
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: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
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 11 Mar 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: 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 30 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.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), 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

Upgrade Splunk to 10.0.3, 9.4.9 or 9.3.10 (Enterprise); 10.2.2510.5, 10.1.2507.16, 10.0.2503.11 or 9.3.2411.123 (Cloud Platform).

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
SplunkSplunk Enterprise	Affected >=10.0 <10.0.3	Fixed in 10.0.3
SplunkSplunk Enterprise	Affected >=9.4 <9.4.9	Fixed in 9.4.9
SplunkSplunk Enterprise	Affected >=9.3 <9.3.10	Fixed in 9.3.10
SplunkSplunk Cloud Platform	Affected >=10.2.2510 <10.2.2510.5	Fixed in 10.2.2510.5
SplunkSplunk Cloud Platform	Affected >=10.1.2507 <10.1.2507.16	Fixed in 10.1.2507.16
SplunkSplunk Cloud Platform	Affected >=10.0.2503 <10.0.2503.11	Fixed in 10.0.2503.11

AI-suggested

Upgrade affected Splunk Enterprise and Splunk Cloud Platform instances to the patched versions: 10.2.0 or later for Enterprise, and corresponding fixed Cloud Platform versions (10.2.2510.5 or later).
Immediately review and tighten role-based access controls to ensure that only users with 'admin' or 'power' roles can access sensitive REST API endpoints, especially `/splunkd/__raw/servicesNS/-/-/configs/conf-passwords`.
Implement network segmentation and firewall rules to restrict access to Splunk management interfaces and APIs to trusted administrators only.
Monitor logs and audit access to the sensitive API endpoints for unusual or unauthorized access attempts.
Rotate any credentials stored in passwords.conf that may have been exposed or are suspected to be compromised.
Employ multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all privileged Splunk accounts to reduce risk from credential theft.
Conduct regular security assessments and penetration tests focusing on Splunk deployments to detect similar misconfigurations or vulnerabilities.
Educate Splunk administrators on the importance of least privilege principles and secure configuration management to prevent future access control issues.

Description

In Splunk Enterprise versions below 10.2.0, 10.0.3, 9.4.9, and 9.3.10, and Splunk Cloud Platform versions below 10.2.2510.5, 10.1.2507.16, 10.0.2503.11, and 9.3.2411.123, a low-privileged user that does not hold the "admin" or "power" Splunk roles could access the `/splunkd/__raw/servicesNS/-/-/configs/conf-passwords` REST API endpoint, which exposes the hashed or plaintext password values that are stored in the passwords.conf configuration file due to improper access control. This vulnerability could allow for the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive credentials.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-20164 is the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive credentials stored within Splunk's passwords.conf file. This can lead to significant confidentiality breaches, as attackers with low privileges can obtain hashed or plaintext passwords. Such credentials could be leveraged to escalate privileges, gain administrative access, or move laterally within an organization's network, potentially compromising other systems and data. Although the vulnerability does not directly affect system integrity or availability, the indirect consequences of credential theft can be severe, including data breaches, operational disruptions, and compliance violations. Organizations relying heavily on Splunk for security monitoring and log management may face increased risk if attackers exploit this flaw to undermine their security posture. The ease of exploitation (network accessible, low privileges required, no user interaction) increases the threat level, especially in environments with multiple users or less stringent role assignments. The absence of known exploits in the wild suggests limited immediate risk but does not preclude future exploitation attempts. Overall, the vulnerability poses a medium risk but with potential for significant downstream impact if exploited.

CWE-200Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #20OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
Architecture and Design · Separation of Privilege
Compartmentalize the system to have "safe" areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Error Handling (opens in a new tab)
Logging (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.4 (opens in a new tab)
V14.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
V7.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Subverting Environment Variable Values (opens in a new tab)
ICMP Echo Request Ping (opens in a new tab)
TCP SYN Scan (opens in a new tab)
Enumerate Mail Exchange (MX) Records (opens in a new tab)
DNS Zone Transfers (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

advisory.splunk.com/advisories/SVD-2026-0303 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 18 Mar 2026, 19:09 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-200

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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