CVE-2026-20164: Splunk Information Disclosure Vulnerability

CVE-2026-20164 Overview

A sensitive information disclosure vulnerability exists in Splunk Enterprise and Splunk Cloud Platform due to improper access control on the /splunkd/__raw/servicesNS/-/-/configs/conf-passwords REST API endpoint. This vulnerability allows low-privileged users who do not hold the "admin" or "power" Splunk roles to access hashed or plaintext password values stored in the passwords.conf configuration file.

Critical Impact
Unauthorized disclosure of sensitive credentials stored in Splunk's password configuration could enable attackers to escalate privileges, move laterally within the network, or compromise integrated systems that rely on credentials stored in Splunk.

Affected Products

Splunk Enterprise versions below 10.2.0, 10.0.3, 9.4.9, and 9.3.10
Splunk Cloud Platform versions below 10.2.2510.5, 10.1.2507.16, 10.0.2503.11, and 9.3.2411.123

Discovery Timeline

March 11, 2026 - CVE-2026-20164 published to NVD
March 12, 2026 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-20164

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor). The flaw stems from insufficient authorization checks on a sensitive REST API endpoint within Splunk's management interface. When authenticated users with low-privilege roles (not holding "admin" or "power" roles) make requests to the vulnerable endpoint, the application fails to validate their authorization level before returning credential data.

The exposed passwords.conf file is a critical Splunk configuration file that stores credentials used for integrations with external systems, data inputs, and other authenticated services. Depending on Splunk's configuration, these passwords may be stored in hashed form or, in some cases, in plaintext format.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper access control implementation on the /splunkd/__raw/servicesNS/-/-/configs/conf-passwords REST API endpoint. The endpoint lacks proper role-based access control (RBAC) validation, allowing any authenticated user to retrieve sensitive password configuration data regardless of their assigned Splunk roles.

Attack Vector

An attacker with valid low-privilege credentials to a Splunk Enterprise or Splunk Cloud Platform instance can exploit this vulnerability by sending authenticated HTTP requests to the vulnerable REST API endpoint. The attack is network-accessible and requires low-privilege authentication but no user interaction.

The exploitation process involves:

Obtaining valid low-privilege credentials to the target Splunk instance
Authenticating to the Splunk REST API
Sending a GET request to /splunkd/__raw/servicesNS/-/-/configs/conf-passwords
Parsing the response to extract hashed or plaintext credentials from the passwords.conf configuration

For technical details on exploitation and affected configurations, refer to the Splunk Security Advisory SVD-2026-0303.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-20164

Indicators of Compromise

Unusual access patterns to the /splunkd/__raw/servicesNS/-/-/configs/conf-passwords endpoint from non-administrative users
Multiple requests to password configuration endpoints from a single low-privilege account
Access to sensitive REST API endpoints from unexpected IP addresses or during unusual hours
Authentication events followed by immediate access to configuration endpoints

Detection Strategies

Monitor Splunk internal logs for REST API requests to /servicesNS/-/-/configs/conf-passwords from users without admin or power roles
Implement alerting for any access to sensitive configuration endpoints by low-privilege accounts
Review Splunk audit logs for abnormal patterns of configuration file access
Deploy network monitoring to detect requests to Splunk REST API endpoints that handle credential data

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose audit logging for Splunk REST API access
Create correlation searches to identify unauthorized access attempts to credential configuration endpoints
Monitor for credential harvesting patterns such as sequential access to multiple configuration endpoints
Implement user behavior analytics to detect anomalous activity from low-privilege accounts

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-20164

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to version 10.2.0, 10.0.3, 9.4.9, or 9.3.10 or later depending on your version branch
For Splunk Cloud Platform, ensure your instance is updated to version 10.2.2510.5, 10.1.2507.16, 10.0.2503.11, or 9.3.2411.123 or later
Review audit logs to identify any potential past exploitation of this vulnerability
Rotate any credentials stored in passwords.conf if unauthorized access is suspected

Patch Information

Splunk has released security patches addressing this vulnerability in the versions listed above. Refer to the Splunk Security Advisory SVD-2026-0303 for detailed patch information and upgrade instructions.

Workarounds

Restrict network access to Splunk management interfaces to trusted IP ranges only
Review and minimize the number of users with authenticated access to Splunk instances
Implement additional network-level access controls in front of Splunk REST API endpoints
Consider using a web application firewall (WAF) to restrict access to sensitive API endpoints until patching is complete

bash

# Example: Restrict access to Splunk management port at the firewall level
# Allow only trusted administrator networks
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8089 -s 10.0.0.0/8 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8089 -j DROP