CVE-2026-76338 Improper Authentication through REST API Distributed Search Token Requests in Splunk Enterprise
An attacker with a trusted distributed search private key can forge admin tokens to access data and disrupt service in Splunk Enterprise.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-76338?
CVE-2026-76338 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Splunk Splunk, published on 19 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In Splunk Enterprise versions below 10.4.2, 10.2.6, 10.0.9, and 9.4.14, an unauthenticated user who has access to a trusted distributed search private key could forge an administrative session token, access all relevant data, affect system integrity, and disrupt service availability. The vulnerability is possible because the distributed search authentication token endpoint does not require a signed request to identify a configured search peer, allowing the request to fall back to shared local key material. For more information see About distributed search (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/distributed-search/10.4/overview-of-distributed-search/about-distributed-search) and authentication.conf (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/admin-manual/10.4/configuration-file-reference/10.4.2-configuration-file-reference/authentication.conf) in Splunk documentation.
Weakness: CWE-287
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-76338?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Splunk Splunk.
How do I fix CVE-2026-76338?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-76338 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and rotate credentials and sessions that may have been exposed. More about Authentication bypass.
Is CVE-2026-76338 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-76338 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Splunk Splunk
- CVE-2026-20253 Splunk Enterprise Missing Authentication for Critical Function
- CVE-2026-76268 Missing Authentication for Critical Function in the Patroni REST API in Splunk Enterprise
- CVE-2026-76284 Improper Neutralization in Splunk Enterprise
- CVE-2026-76285 Improper Adherence to Coding Standards in Splunk Enterprise
- CVE-2017-17067 Auth bypass in n/a
Sources
Also known as GHSA-2hhx-v97c-cm95.