CVE-2022-37438: Splunk Enterprise Information Disclosure

CVE-2022-37438 Overview

CVE-2022-37438 is an Information Leakage vulnerability affecting Splunk Enterprise and Splunk Cloud Platform. An authenticated user can craft a malicious dashboard that potentially leaks sensitive information about other Splunk users—including usernames, email addresses, and real names—when another user visits the dashboard through the drilldown component. The vulnerability requires the attacker to have valid user credentials with access to create and share dashboards using Splunk Web.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers can harvest sensitive user information from other Splunk users by creating specially crafted dashboards, potentially enabling targeted phishing attacks or account enumeration.

Affected Products

• Splunk Enterprise (multiple versions)
• Splunk Cloud Platform
• Splunk Enterprise version 9.0.0

Discovery Timeline

• August 16, 2022 - CVE-2022-37438 published to NVD
• November 21, 2024 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2022-37438

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor). The flaw exists within Splunk's dashboard drilldown component, which allows dashboard creators to define interactive elements that can navigate users to other dashboards or execute searches when clicked.

The vulnerability arises from insufficient access controls in the drilldown functionality. When a user interacts with a maliciously crafted dashboard element, the drilldown component can be configured to expose information about Splunk users that the viewing user would not normally have access to. This includes personally identifiable information such as usernames, email addresses, and real names stored in the Splunk user database.

The attack requires the attacker to be an authenticated user with permissions to create and share dashboards via Splunk Web. This makes it an insider threat scenario where a lower-privileged user could harvest information about other users in the organization, including potentially higher-privileged administrators.

Root Cause

The root cause stems from improper information exposure controls within the drilldown component's handling of user data. The component fails to adequately validate and sanitize what information can be accessed and displayed when processing drilldown actions, allowing crafted dashboard configurations to extract user metadata that should be protected.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires user interaction. An authenticated attacker creates a malicious dashboard with specially configured drilldown components designed to extract user information. The attacker then shares or publishes this dashboard to make it accessible to other users. When a victim user visits the dashboard and interacts with the drilldown element, the sensitive user information is leaked to the attacker.

The vulnerability leverages the trust relationship between dashboard components and the Splunk user database. Since dashboards are a core feature of Splunk for data visualization, users may not suspect malicious intent when interacting with shared dashboards within their organization.

Detection Methods for CVE-2022-37438

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual dashboard creation activity from users who don't typically create dashboards
• Dashboards with suspicious drilldown configurations referencing user data endpoints
• Anomalous patterns of dashboard sharing, especially to broad user groups
• Access logs showing multiple users viewing the same recently created dashboard

Detection Strategies

• Monitor Splunk audit logs for dashboard creation and modification events with drilldown configurations
• Implement alerting on dashboards shared to large groups or publicly accessible within the organization
• Review dashboard XML configurations for potentially malicious drilldown definitions
• Leverage Splunk's own detection rule for this vulnerability

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive audit logging for dashboard operations in Splunk
• Establish baseline metrics for dashboard creation and sharing patterns
• Configure alerts for dashboards accessing user-related REST endpoints
• Regularly audit shared dashboards for suspicious configurations

How to Mitigate CVE-2022-37438

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade affected Splunk Enterprise installations to patched versions as specified in the vendor advisory
• Review existing dashboards for suspicious drilldown configurations
• Restrict dashboard creation and sharing permissions to trusted users only
• Audit user accounts with dashboard creation capabilities

Patch Information

Splunk has released security updates addressing this vulnerability. Organizations should consult the Splunk Security Announcement SVD-2022-0802 for specific version information and upgrade guidance. For Splunk Cloud Platform customers, patches are applied by Splunk as part of managed service updates.

Workarounds

• Implement role-based access controls to limit dashboard creation to trusted users
• Disable dashboard sharing capabilities where not operationally required
• Configure network segmentation to limit access to Splunk Web interfaces
• Review and audit existing shared dashboards before applying patches

# Example: Restrict dashboard creation to admin role only
# In authorize.conf, configure capabilities:
[role_user]
schedule_search = enabled
edit_dashboard = disabled

[role_power]
schedule_search = enabled
edit_dashboard = disabled

[role_admin]
edit_dashboard = enabled