CVE-2023-4571
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 · uneditedIn Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI) versions below below 4.13.3, 4.15.3, or 4.17.1, a malicious actor can inject American National Standards Institute (ANSI) escape codes into Splunk ITSI log files that, when a vulnerable terminal application reads them, can run malicious code in the vulnerable application. This attack requires a user to use a terminal application that translates ANSI escape codes to read the malicious log file locally in the vulnerable terminal. The vulnerability also requires additional user interaction to succeed. The vulnerability does not directly affect Splunk ITSI. The indirect impact on Splunk ITSI can vary significantly depending on the permissions in the vulnerable terminal application, as well as where and how the user reads the malicious log file. For example, users can copy the malicious file from Splunk ITSI and read it on their local machine.
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 confidenceThis is an ANSI escape code injection vulnerability in Splunk ITSI where malicious actors can embed ANSI escape sequences into log files. When users view these compromised log files through terminal applications that interpret ANSI codes, the escape sequences can trigger code execution in the vulnerable terminal application. The vulnerability indirectly affects Splunk ITSI through downstream terminal applications.
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>= 4.13.0, < 4.13.3>= 4.15.0, < 4.15.3= 4.17.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Splunk ITSI installationRun 'splunk version' from the Splunk bin directory or check the version through the Splunk web interface under Settings > About > VersionAffected if Splunk ITSI is not installed or the command fails
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Identify the exact ITSI versionLocate the itsi_version.conf file in $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/SA-ITOA/default/ or run 'splunk cmd python -c "import itsi; print(itsi.__version__)"' if availableAffected if The version cannot be determined or is in the affected range
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Compare version against affected rangesCheck if the installed version matches: 4.13.0-4.13.2, 4.15.0-4.15.2, or 4.17.0Affected if Installed version falls within any of these ranges: >=4.13.0 and <4.13.3, or >=4.15.0 and <4.15.3, or equals 4.17.0
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Inspect log file generation settingsReview log output configuration in itsi.conf or any custom logging configurations under $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/SA-ITOA/local/Affected if Log files are written to locations accessible by untrusted users or the logging level allows arbitrary content injection
If Splunk ITSI is installed and the version is 4.13.0-4.13.2, 4.15.0-4.15.2, or 4.17.0, then the environment is vulnerable to ANSI escape code injection in generated log files.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped4.13.34.15.3
Upgrade Splunk ITSI to version 4.13.3, 4.15.3, or 4.17.1 to prevent malicious ANSI escape code injection into log files. Additionally, users should avoid opening untrusted log files in terminal applications that process ANSI escape codes, or use terminal emulators with code execution protections.
4.13.3, 4.15.3, or 4.17.1 (depending on current branch)
- Identify the current ITSI version by navigating to Settings > About in the Splunk ITSI interface
- For versions 4.13.x: upgrade to version 4.13.3 or later
- For versions 4.15.x: upgrade to version 4.15.3 or later
- For version 4.17.0: upgrade to version 4.17.1 or later
- After upgrade, verify the ITSI version reflects the fixed release in Settings > About
- Ensure terminal applications used to read ITSI logs are up-to-date with ANSI escape code handling protections
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-4571 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-4571 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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