dbcve.org
Ai ToolkitApplication · Splunk

CVE-2026-20238

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.7.3 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 AI Toolkit versions below 5.7.3, a low-privileged user that does not hold the 'admin' or 'power' roles could access confidential data that was restricted through `srchFilter` configurations on custom roles.<br><br>The app contains an `authorize.conf` configuration file with a `srchFilter` entry that modifies the built-in ‘user’ role. Because the Splunk platform combines inherited search filters with the `OR` SPL operator, the injected filter overrides more restrictive filters on child roles.

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

In Splunk AI Toolkit versions below 5.7.3, the authorize.conf configuration file contains a srchFilter entry that modifies the built-in 'user' role. When Splunk combines inherited search filters using the OR operator, the injected filter overrides more restrictive srchFilter configurations on child roles. This allows low-privileged users without admin or power roles to bypass role-based access controls and access confidential data that should be restricted.

MitigationUpgrade to Splunk AI Toolkit version 5.7.3 or later. After upgrading, review and verify that role-based search filter restrictions are properly enforced.

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
Ai ToolkitApplication
Affected:>= 5.7.0, < 5.7.3

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 AI Toolkit version
    Locate the Splunk AI Toolkit app (usually in $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/ai_toolkit/) and read the default/app.conf file to find the version number in the [launcher] section
    Affected if The version is 5.7.0, 5.7.1, or 5.7.2 (versions >= 5.7.0 and < 5.7.3)
  2. Locate authorize.conf in AI Toolkit
    Find the authorize.conf file within the Splunk AI Toolkit directory, typically at $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/ai_toolkit/default/authorize.conf
    Affected if The authorize.conf file exists in the AI Toolkit directory
  3. Examine srchFilter entries for the user role
    Open the authorize.conf file and search for any [role_user] stanza containing an srchFilter setting
    Affected if An srchFilter entry exists under the [role_user] stanza in the AI Toolkit's authorize.conf
  4. Identify custom roles with restrictive srchFilters
    Check all authorize.conf files (both default and local) for custom roles that inherit from user and contain srchFilter settings with more restrictive conditions (such as index=restricted or index=confidential)
    Affected if Custom child roles exist with srchFilter settings that would be overridden by the less-restrictive AI Toolkit filter due to OR combination behavior

A user is affected if Splunk AI Toolkit version 5.7.0-5.7.2 is installed and its authorize.conf contains an srchFilter entry that modifies the built-in 'user' role, potentially overriding more restrictive filters on child custom roles.

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 5.7.3 or later
Fixed in 5.7.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Splunk AI Toolkit version 5.7.3 or later. After upgrading, review and verify that role-based search filter restrictions are properly enforced.

Recommended fix High confidence

Splunk AI Toolkit 5.7.3

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed version of Splunk AI Toolkit in your Splunk environment
  2. 2. Download Splunk AI Toolkit version 5.7.3 or later from Splunkbase or the official Splunk repository
  3. 3. Upgrade the Splunk AI Toolkit app to version 5.7.3 or higher following standard Splunk app upgrade procedures
  4. 4. Restart the Splunk platform if required by the upgrade process
  5. 5. Verify that the upgrade was successful and test that the srchFilter authorization behavior is now correct for non-admin/non-power users

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

Fix this in Ai Toolkit Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2026-20238 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
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