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SplunkApplication

CVE-2023-40593

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.2.12 / 9.0.6 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 lower than 9.0.6 and 8.2.12, a malicious actor can send a malformed security assertion markup language (SAML) request to the `/saml/acs` REST endpoint which can cause a denial of service through a crash or hang of the Splunk daemon.

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 · high confidence

A denial of service vulnerability exists in Splunk Enterprise's SAML Single Sign-On implementation. Attackers can send malformed SAML requests to the /saml/acs (Assertion Consumer Service) endpoint, causing the Splunk daemon to crash or hang.

MitigationUpgrade Splunk Enterprise to version 9.0.6 or higher (for 9.x branches) or 8.2.12 or higher (for 8.x branches). Prior to upgrade, document current SAML configuration for post-upgrade verification.

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:>= 8.2.0, < 8.2.12>= 9.0.0, < 9.0.6
Splunk Cloud PlatformApplication
Affected:<= 9.0.2305.100

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Verify SAML SSO is configured
    In Splunk Web, go to Settings > Authentication > SAML and confirm SAML is enabled. Alternatively, check $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local/authentication.conf for [saml] section.
    Affected if SAML authentication is not enabled, the vulnerability does not apply
  2. Check Splunk Enterprise version
    Run 'splunk --version' from the command line, or in Splunk Web go to Settings > About > Version. Note the full version number including patch level.
    Affected if Version is 8.2.0 through 8.2.11 (8.x branch) OR 9.0.0 through 9.0.5 (9.x branch)
  3. Confirm Splunk Cloud version if applicable
    In Splunk Cloud, check the version under Settings > Account Settings > About, or contact Splunk Cloud administrator for the deployed version number.
    Affected if Running Splunk Cloud Platform version 9.0.2305.100 or lower
  4. Identify SAML endpoint exposure
    Confirm the /saml/acs (Assertion Consumer Service) endpoint is accessible. This is typically at https://<your-splunk-host>/saml/acs and is required for SAML to function.
    Affected if The SAML endpoint is exposed and SAML is enabled on an affected version

Your environment is affected if SAML SSO is enabled AND you are running a vulnerable Splunk Enterprise (8.2.0-8.2.11 or 9.0.0-9.0.5) or Splunk Cloud Platform (up to 9.0.2305.100).

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 8.2.12 / 9.0.6 or later
Fixed in 8.2.129.0.6
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to version 9.0.6 or higher (for 9.x branches) or 8.2.12 or higher (for 8.x branches). Prior to upgrade, document current SAML configuration for post-upgrade verification.

Recommended fix High confidence

Splunk Enterprise 8.2.12+ or 9.0.6+ (Cloud: > 9.0.2305.100)

  1. Review Splunk Enterprise upgrade documentation for your current version
  2. Back up all Splunk configuration files, apps, and data before proceeding
  3. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first
  4. Schedule a maintenance window as the upgrade will require service restart
  5. For Splunk Enterprise 8.2.x: upgrade to version 8.2.12 or later
  6. For Splunk Enterprise 9.0.x: upgrade to version 9.0.6 or later
  7. For Splunk Cloud Platform: contact Splunk support to ensure your instance is upgraded beyond 9.0.2305.100
  8. After upgrade, verify the Splunk daemon starts successfully
Caveat Point releases typically have minimal breaking changes, but review Splunk release notes for any configuration or app compatibility notes before upgrading

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

Fix this in Splunk Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2023-40593 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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