Improper Authentication through REST API Distributed Search Token Requests in Splunk Enterprise
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-76338 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | cisco |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-08-19 22:17:18 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-08-21 19:15:08 UTC |
| Description | In Splunk Enterprise versions below 10.4.2, 10.2.6, 10.0.9, and 9.4.14, an unauthenticated user who has access to a trusted distributed search private key could forge an administrative session token, access all relevant data, affect system integrity, and disrupt service availability. The vulnerability is possible because the distributed search authentication token endpoint does not require a signed request to identify a configured search peer, allowing the request to fall back to shared local key material. For more information see About distributed search (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/distributed-search/10.4/overview-of-distributed-search/about-distributed-search) and authentication.conf (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/admin-manual/10.4/configuration-file-reference/10.4.2-configuration-file-reference/authentication.conf) in Splunk documentation. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 8.1 HIGH from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS: 0.002750000 probability, percentile 0.200000000 (date 2026-08-21)
Problem Types: CWE-287 | CWE-287 When an actor claims to have a given identity, the software does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 8.1 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 8.1 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Splunk | Splunk Enterprise | affected 10.4 10.4.2 custom | Not specified |
| CNA | Splunk | Splunk Enterprise | affected 10.2 10.2.6 custom | Not specified |
| CNA | Splunk | Splunk Enterprise | affected 10.0 10.0.9 custom | Not specified |
| CNA | Splunk | Splunk Enterprise | affected 9.4 9.4.14 custom | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| advisory.splunk.com/advisories/SVD-2026-0801 | [email protected] | advisory.splunk.com | Vendor Advisory |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Additional Advisory Data
Solutions
CNA: Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to versions 10.4.2, 10.2.6, 10.0.9, and 9.4.14, or higher. Set `strictPeerNameValidation = true` in `authentication.conf` on every distributed node, then restart Splunk Enterprise.
Workarounds
CNA: Turn off legacy distributed search token fallback by setting strictPeerNameValidation = true in the authentication.conf configuration file if you do not use distributed search peers that omit peername. Restart Splunk Enterprise on every node in the distributed environment after applying the setting. For more information see [authentication.conf](https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/admin-manual/10.4/configuration-file-reference/10.4.2-configuration-file-reference/authentication.conf) in the Splunk documentation.