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SplunkApplication

CVE-2023-22935

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.1.13 / 8.2.10 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In Splunk Enterprise versions below 8.1.13, 8.2.10, and 9.0.4, the ‘display.page.search.patterns.sensitivity’ search parameter lets a search bypass SPL safeguards for risky commands. The vulnerability requires a higher privileged user to initiate a request within their browser and only affects instances with Splunk Web enabled.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

The 'display.page.search.patterns.sensitivity' parameter in Splunk Enterprise allows bypassing SPL safeguards that normally restrict execution of risky commands. An attacker could trick a higher-privileged user into initiating a crafted request within their browser to execute searches that would normally be blocked by Splunk's built-in security controls.

MitigationUpgrade Splunk Enterprise to version 8.1.13, 8.2.10, 9.0.4 or later. Alternatively, disable Splunk Web if not required, as this vulnerability only affects instances with Splunk Web enabled.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
SplunkApplication
Affected:>= 8.1.0, < 8.1.13>= 8.2.0, < 8.2.10>= 9.0.0, < 9.0.4
Splunk Cloud PlatformApplication
Affected:< 9.0.2209.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Splunk Web is enabled
    Check if Splunk Web is running. On the Splunk server, inspect the $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/default/web.conf or custom web.conf for the 'enableWebServer' setting, or run: splunk cmd -c 'serverinfo' | grep -i web
    Affected if Splunk Web is enabled and the version is within the affected ranges
  2. Check installed Splunk Enterprise version
    Run: splunk version or check the $SPLUNK_HOME/splunk-version file. Compare the version number against: 8.1.0 through 8.1.12, 8.2.0 through 8.2.9, or 9.0.0 through 9.0.3
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of the affected ranges (8.1.x where x < 13, 8.2.x where x < 10, 9.0.x where x < 4)
  3. Inspect display.page.search.patterns.sensitivity setting
    In Splunk Web, navigate to Settings > Server settings > General settings > Security, or query the configuration: curl -k https://localhost:8089/servicesNS/nobody/system/configs/conf-web/conf -u admin:password 2>/dev/null | grep -i patterns.sensitivity. Alternatively, check $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local/inputs.conf for any [http] stanzas with this setting
    Affected if The display.page.search.patterns.sensitivity setting exists and is set to a value other than 'strict' or is absent (defaulting to a less restrictive value)
  4. Verify web.conf for sensitivity configuration
    Examine $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local/web.conf (or app-specific web.conf files) for any [display] stanza containing 'page.search.patterns.sensitivity' and note its value
    Affected if The sensitivity parameter is configured to a permissive value or is not explicitly set to 'strict' while Splunk Web is running on an affected version

You are affected if Splunk Web is enabled and your Splunk version is 8.1.x < 13, 8.2.x < 10, or 9.0.x < 4 (or Cloud < 9.0.2209.3), and the display.page.search.patterns.sensitivity setting is not explicitly hardened to 'strict'.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 8.1.13 / 8.2.10 / 9.0.4 or later
Fixed in 8.1.138.2.109.0.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to version 8.1.13, 8.2.10, 9.0.4 or later. Alternatively, disable Splunk Web if not required, as this vulnerability only affects instances with Splunk Web enabled.

Recommended fix High confidence

Minimum fixed versions: Splunk Enterprise 8.1.13, 8.2.10, or 9.0.4; Splunk Cloud Platform 9.0.2209.3

  1. 1. Identify the current Splunk Enterprise version installed (or the Splunk Cloud Platform version)
  2. 2. For Splunk Enterprise 8.1.x: Upgrade to version 8.1.13 or later
  3. 3. For Splunk Enterprise 8.2.x: Upgrade to version 8.2.10 or later
  4. 4. For Splunk Enterprise 9.0.x: Upgrade to version 9.0.4 or later
  5. 5. For Splunk Cloud Platform: Upgrade to version 9.0.2209.3 or later
  6. 6. After upgrading, verify the Splunk Web interface is functioning correctly and test that the 'display.page.search.patterns.sensitivity' parameter is properly restricted
Caveat Review Splunk release notes for any breaking changes between current and target versions before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Splunk Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-22935 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data