# CVE-2026-76279: Improper Input Validation of Index Names through the collect Command in Splunk Enterprise

> Users with collect capability can bypass index access restrictions to write events to internal indexes due to improper input validation.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 7 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 10 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-r8c9-m46h-5vq8

## What is CVE-2026-76279?

CVE-2026-76279 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Splunk Splunk, published on 7 Oct 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In Splunk Enterprise versions below 10.4.3, 10.2.7, 10.0.10, and 9.4.15, a user that holds a role with the run_collect capability could use the collect Search Processing Language (SPL) command to write events to internal indexes outside the index access configured for the role. The vulnerability is possible because Splunk Enterprise does not normalize whitespace in an index name before applying configured index-access restrictions for the role. For more information see collect (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/search/spl-search-reference/10.4/search-commands/collect), Define roles on the Splunk platform with capabilities (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/manage-users-and-security/10.4/manage-splunk-platform-users-and-roles/define-roles-on-the-splunk-platform-with-capabilities), and How indexing works (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/manage-indexers-and-indexer-clusters/10.4/indexing-overview/how-indexing-works) in the Splunk documentation.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-76279?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Splunk Splunk.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-76279?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-76279 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-76279 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-76279 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-2026-76279 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-76279 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Splunk Splunk, published on 7 Oct 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-76279 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-2026-76279/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-76279/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-76279
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-76279
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-76279

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-76279/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.