Quick answer
Direct answer
Risk scores
| CVSS metric | What it means |
|---|---|
| Attack vector (AV:L) | Local access needed |
| Attack complexity (AC:L) | Low complexity |
| Privileges required (PR:L) | Low privileges required |
| User interaction (UI:N) | No user interaction |
| Scope (S:C) | Scope changed: impact spreads beyond the component |
| Confidentiality (C:H) | High confidentiality impact |
| Integrity (I:H) | High integrity impact |
| Availability (A:H) | High availability impact |
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
About Splunk
CVE-2026-76259 affects Splunk, a product from Splunk. Before acting, confirm where Splunk runs in your estate, who owns it and whether it is reachable from the internet, because exposure decides real risk more than the score alone.
What the flaw is
In plain terms: In Splunk Enterprise for Windows versions below 10.4.2, 10.2.6, 10.0.9, 9.4.13, and 9.3.14, a local user with access to the Windows host could bind to the management port before Splunk Enterprise starts, intercept authentication tokens from child processes, and use those tokens to compromise all relevant data and system integrity available to the user account running Splunk Enterprise. The vulnerability is possible because the Windows management-port listener does not apply exclusive address binding protections before the service starts.
The weakness class is Improper Privilege Management. Privileges are assigned or checked incorrectly.
Based on its CVSS vector, the flaw needs local or adjacent access, needs some level of access, and needs no user interaction. Apply the vendor fix and confirm exposure on internet facing and business critical assets first.
Affected versions and timeline
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Product | Splunk |
| Affected versions | Splunk from 9.3.0 before 9.3.14; Splunk from 9.4.0 before 9.4.13; Splunk from 10.0.0 before 10.0.9; Splunk from 10.2.0 before 10.2.6; Splunk from 10.4.0 before 10.4.2 |
| Published | Aug 19, 2026 |
| Last modified | Aug 27, 2026 |
| Added to CISA KEV | Not listed |
| Assigning CNA | psirt@cisco.com |
How to detect it
- Inventory every instance of Splunk and record the running version against the affected range above.
- Check external attack surface scans for internet facing instances of the component.
- Review logs on affected systems for unusual requests, errors or new processes around the vulnerable function.
- Confirm with an authenticated vulnerability scan once your scanner has a check for this CVE.
How to fix it
- Apply the fixed version of Splunk named in the vendor advisory.
- If patching must wait, restrict network access to the affected service and put it behind authentication or a web application firewall rule.
- Rescan after the change to prove the exposure is gone, then close the ticket.
CTEM action plan
| CTEM stage | What to do for this CVE |
|---|---|
| Scope | Add every business service that depends on Splunk to the current CTEM cycle. |
| Discover | Find all instances, including shadow and cloud deployments, and record versions and exposure. |
| Prioritize | Rank using EPSS and CVSS together with asset exposure and business impact. |
| Validate | Confirm the flaw is reachable and exploitable in your environment and that compensating controls work. |
| Mobilize | Assign the fix to the asset owner with a due date matched to the priority, then verify closure. |
CWE References
- CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management More CVEs with this weakness
Technical References
Frequently asked questions
Related CVEs
Improper Adherence to Coding Standards. Splunk addressed multiple internally identified vulnerabilities in Splunk Enterprise versions 10.4.3, 10.2.7, 10.0.10, and 9.4.15. The vulnerabilities are grouped by Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE), with one Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) identifier assigned to each group. See Details for more information.
In Splunk Enterprise versions below 10.4.2, 10.2.6, 10.0.9, 9.4.14, and 9.3.14, an unauthenticated user could cause another user to dispatch arbitrary Search Processing Language (SPL) pipelines from Dataset Explorer with the same privileges as that user, which can allow for access to all relevant data and system integrity available to that user and affect system availability. The vulnerability is possible because Dataset Explorer does not validate or escape dataset names before building SPL searches and does not apply SPL safeguards for risky commands to those searches. The vulnerability requires the attacker to phish the user by tricking them into opening the crafted link. The unauthenticated user should not be able to exploit the vulnerability at will. For more information see Explore a dataset (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/manage-knowledge-objects/knowledge-management-manual/10.4/manage-and-explore-datasets/explore-a-dataset) and SPL safeguards for risky commands (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/manage-users-and-security/10.4/best-practices-for-splunk-platform-security/spl-safeguards-for-risky-commands) in the Splunk documentation.
In setAllowedCarriers of PhoneInterfaceManager.java, there is a possible way to disable carrier restrictions due to a logic error in the code. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.
In MicroXR Blobstore, there is a possible way to access other app's files due to a missing permission check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.
The vulnerability exists in BLUVOYIX due to improper authentication in the BLUVOYIX admin APIs. An unauthenticated remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted HTTP requests to the vulnerable admin API to create a new user with admin privileges. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow the attacker to gain full access to customers' data and completely compromise the targeted platform by logging in to the newly-created admin user.
File Browser is a file managing interface for uploading, deleting, previewing, renaming, and editing files within a specified directory. In versions 2.61.2 and below, any unauthenticated visitor can register a full administrator account when self-registration (signup = true) is enabled and the default user permissions have perm.admin = true. The signup handler blindly applies all default settings (including Perm.Admin) to the new user without any server-side guard that strips admin from self-registered accounts. The signupHandler is supposed to create unprivileged accounts for new visitors. It contains no explicit user.Perm.Admin = false reset after applying defaults. If an administrator (intentionally or accidentally) configures defaults.perm.admin = true and also enables signup, every account created via the public registration endpoint is an administrator with full control over all files, users, and server settings. This issue has been resolved in version 2.62.0.
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