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SplunkApplication

CVE-2025-20232

MEDIUM · 5.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.1.8 / 9.1.2308.212 or later.
See remediation →
61/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 9.3.3, 9.2.5, and 9.1.8 and Splunk Cloud Platform versions below 9.3.2408.103, 9.2.2406.108, 9.2.2403.113, 9.1.2312.208 and 9.1.2308.212, 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 “/app/search/search“ endpoint through its “s“ parameter. <br>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 confidence

This is an authorization bypass in Splunk Enterprise and Cloud Platform where a low-privileged user (non-admin/power roles) can execute saved searches containing risky commands by manipulating the 's' parameter on the '/app/search/search' endpoint, effectively bypassing SPL safeguards and running commands with elevated privileges.

MitigationUpgrade Splunk Enterprise to versions 9.3.3, 9.2.5, 9.1.8 or later, or upgrade Splunk Cloud Platform to versions 9.3.2408.103, 9.2.2406.108, 9.2.2403.113, 9.1.2312.208, 9.1.2308.212 or later.

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:>= 9.1.0, < 9.1.8>= 9.2.0, < 9.2.5>= 9.3.0, < 9.3.3
Splunk Cloud PlatformApplication
Affected:>= 9.1.2308, < 9.1.2308.212>= 9.1.2312.100, < 9.1.2312.208>= 9.2.2403.100, < 9.2.2403.113>= 9.2.2406.100, < 9.2.2406.108>= 9.3.2408.100, < 9.3.2408.103

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
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 checks

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

  1. Check Splunk Enterprise version
    Run 'splunk --version' or access About page in Splunk Web to get the exact version number
    Affected if Installed version is >=9.1.0 and <9.1.8, OR >=9.2.0 and <9.2.5, OR >=9.3.0 and <9.3.3
  2. Check Splunk Cloud Platform version
    Access Splunk Cloud version information through the Cloud Platform administration interface or contact Splunk support
    Affected if Installed version matches any of the affected Cloud ranges: >=9.1.2308 and <9.1.2308.212, >=9.1.2312.100 and <9.1.2312.208, >=9.2.2403.100 and <9.2.2403.113, >=9.2.2406.100 and <9.2.2406.108, or >=9.3.2408.100 and <9.3.2408.103
  3. Identify low-privileged user roles
    Review user roles in Splunk: Access Settings > Users and Authentication > Roles. Check for users assigned to roles that are neither 'admin' nor 'power'
    Affected if Non-admin/non-power users exist in the environment who can access saved searches
  4. Audit saved searches with risky commands
    Search for saved searches containing dangerous SPL commands by running: | rest /servicesNS/-/search/saved/searches | search search=* | fields title search | where like(search, "%pipe command%") (replace with specific risky commands like 'exec', 'script', '|')
    Affected if Saved searches containing risky SPL commands exist and are accessible to low-privileged users

Your environment is affected if you run a vulnerable Splunk version AND have non-admin users who can access saved searches containing risky commands via the /app/search/search endpoint.

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 9.1.8 / 9.1.2308.212 / 9.1.2312.208 or later
Fixed in 9.1.89.1.2308.2129.1.2312.208
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to versions 9.3.3, 9.2.5, 9.1.8 or later, or upgrade Splunk Cloud Platform to versions 9.3.2408.103, 9.2.2406.108, 9.2.2403.113, 9.1.2312.208, 9.1.2308.212 or later.

Recommended fix High confidence

Splunk Enterprise: 9.1.8+, 9.2.5+, 9.3.3+ | Splunk Cloud Platform: 9.1.2308.212+, 9.1.2312.208+, 9.2.2403.113+, 9.2.2406.108+

  1. Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to version 9.1.8 or higher for the 9.1.x branch
  2. Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to version 9.2.5 or higher for the 9.2.x branch
  3. Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to version 9.3.3 or higher for the 9.3.x branch
  4. For Splunk Cloud Platform customers, upgrade to the appropriate fixed version as provided by Splunk Cloud support: 9.1.2308.212, 9.1.2312.208, 9.2.2403.113, or 9.2.2406.108 or later
Caveat Standard Splunk upgrade precautions apply - review Splunk upgrade documentation, test in non-production environment, ensure backups exist

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

Fix this in Splunk Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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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-2025-20232 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