# CVE-2016-4858: Cross-site scripting in Splunk Enterprise

> Remote attackers can inject arbitrary web script or HTML into Splunk Enterprise, potentially compromising user sessions or data.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 12 May 2017
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-jqwm-h8cf-c265

## What is CVE-2016-4858?

CVE-2016-4858 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Splunk Splunk, published on 12 May 2017. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Cross-site scripting vulnerability in Splunk Enterprise 6.4.x prior to 6.4.2, Splunk Enterprise 6.3.x prior to 6.3.6, Splunk Enterprise 6.2.x prior to 6.2.10, Splunk Enterprise 6.1.x prior to 6.1.11, Splunk Enterprise 6.0.x prior to 6.0.12, Splunk Enterprise 5.0.x prior to 5.0.16 and Splunk Light prior to 6.4.2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.

Weakness: CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-4858?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Splunk Splunk.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-4858?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-4858 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-4858 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-4858 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Splunk Splunk

- [CVE-2026-20253](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20253/): Splunk Enterprise Missing Authentication for Critical Function (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-76268](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-76268/): Missing Authentication for Critical Function in the Patroni REST API in Splunk Enterprise (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-76284](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-76284/): Improper Neutralization in Splunk Enterprise (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-76285](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-76285/): Improper Adherence to Coding Standards in Splunk Enterprise (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-17067](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-17067/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-4858 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-4858 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Splunk Splunk, published on 12 May 2017. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-4858 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Splunk Splunk. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4858/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4858/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-4858
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-4858
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-4858

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4858/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.