CVE-2025-20226
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 Enterprise versions below 9.4.1, 9.3.3, 9.2.5, and 9.1.8 and Splunk Cloud Platform versions below 9.3.2408.107, 9.2.2406.111, and 9.1.2308.214, a low-privileged user that does not hold the "admin" or "power" Splunk roles could run a saved search with a risky command using the permissions of a higher-privileged user to bypass the SPL safeguards for risky commands on the "/services/streams/search" endpoint through its "q" parameter. The vulnerability requires the attacker to phish the victim by tricking them into initiating a request within their browser. The authenticated user should not be able to exploit the vulnerability at will.
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 confidenceA low-privileged Splunk user (non-admin, non-power) can bypass SPL safeguards for risky commands by using the /services/streams/search endpoint's 'q' parameter through a saved search, leveraging the permissions of a higher-privileged user. The attack requires phishing a victim to initiate a request within their browser.
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>= 9.1.0, < 9.1.8>= 9.2.0, < 9.2.5>= 9.3.0, < 9.3.3= 9.4.0>= 9.1.2308, < 9.1.2308.214>= 9.2.2406.100, < 9.2.2406.111>= 9.3.2408.100, < 9.3.2408.107CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Check installed Splunk Enterprise versionNavigate to Settings > About > About Splunk Enterprise, or inspect $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/splunk.version for the version numberAffected if Version matches 9.1.0 to 9.1.7, 9.2.0 to 9.2.4, 9.3.0 to 9.3.2, or exactly 9.4.0
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Check installed Splunk Cloud Platform versionNavigate to Settings > Account Settings > System > Version Info, or contact Splunk Cloud admin for version detailsAffected if Version matches 9.1.2308 to 9.1.2308.213, 9.2.2406.100 to 9.2.2406.110, or 9.3.2408.100 to 9.3.2408.106
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Identify suspicious saved searches using streams/searchSearch the savedsearches.conf files or run: | rest /services/saved/searches | search action.stream.* OR q=* for saved searches that contain stream-related actions or queriesAffected if Saved searches exist with unusual stream endpoints or queries authored by low-privileged users that invoke higher-privileged user permissions
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Audit recent search activity for risky commands via streams endpointSearch internal logs: index=_audit action=search info=completed search IN (|) | search q=* OR uri=*/services/streams/search*Affected if Audit logs show searches executed through /services/streams/search that contain risky commands like |tstats, |metadata, or |DBXquery without proper role-based restrictions
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Verify SPL safeguards are enabled for low-privileged rolesNavigate to Settings > Server Settings > SPL Safelist Settings, or inspect local.meta for role configurations. Check if roles like user or power have restricted commandsAffected if Low-privileged roles (user, power) can execute risky commands through the streams/search endpoint without proper enforcement
Your Splunk deployment is affected if it runs a version within the ranges listed and you have low-privileged users who can access the /services/streams/search endpoint through crafted saved searches.
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 · scoped9.1.89.1.2308.2149.2.5
Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to 9.4.1, 9.3.3, 9.2.5, or 9.1.8 (or later), or upgrade Splunk Cloud Platform to 9.3.2408.107, 9.2.2406.111, or 9.1.2308.214 (or later).
Splunk Enterprise: 9.4.1 (or 9.1.8/9.2.5/9.3.3 minimum); Splunk Cloud Platform: 9.3.2408.107 (or 9.1.2308.214/9.2.2406.111 minimum)
- Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to version 9.1.8 or higher (recommended: 9.4.1 for latest security fixes)
- If running Splunk Cloud Platform, contact Splunk support to request upgrade to version 9.1.2308.214, 9.2.2406.111, or 9.3.2408.107 or later
- After upgrade, verify the fix by confirming saved searches with risky commands respect role-based permissions
- Review user role assignments to ensure least-privilege principles are followed
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-20226 — 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-2025-20226 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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- 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
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