CVE-2022-43567 in Splunk
Summary
by MITRE • 11/05/2022
In Splunk Enterprise versions below 8.2.9, 8.1.12, and 9.0.2, an authenticated user can run arbitrary operating system commands remotely through the use of specially crafted requests to the mobile alerts feature in the Splunk Secure Gateway app.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/05/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-43567 represents a critical command injection flaw within Splunk Enterprise that affects multiple version lines including 8.2.8 and earlier, 8.1.11 and earlier, and 9.0.1 and earlier. This vulnerability specifically resides within the mobile alerts functionality of the Splunk Secure Gateway app, which operates as a component designed to facilitate secure communication between Splunk and mobile devices. The flaw allows an authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the affected Splunk server through crafted HTTP requests that leverage the mobile alerts feature. This represents a severe privilege escalation vector since the attacker must first establish authentication credentials but does not require administrative privileges to exploit the vulnerability.
The technical mechanism behind this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and sanitization within the mobile alerts processing pipeline. When Splunk processes mobile alert requests, the application fails to properly validate or escape user-supplied parameters that are subsequently used in system command execution contexts. This creates a classic command injection scenario where malicious input can be interpreted and executed as operating system commands by the underlying shell. The vulnerability manifests when the application constructs system calls using user-controllable data without proper sanitization, allowing attackers to inject malicious command sequences that bypass normal execution boundaries.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables attackers to achieve full system compromise of Splunk Enterprise installations, potentially leading to data exfiltration, lateral movement within networks, and persistence mechanisms. The authenticated nature of the exploit means that attackers must first gain valid credentials, but this is often achievable through credential spraying, password reuse, or other common attack vectors. Once exploited, the attacker can execute commands with the privileges of the Splunk service account, which typically runs with elevated permissions to access logs, data, and system resources. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-77 and CWE-88 within the Common Weakness Enumeration catalog, representing command injection and improper neutralization of special elements used in argument lists respectively. The attack pattern aligns with ATT&CK techniques including T1059.001 for command and script interpreter and T1078.004 for valid accounts, demonstrating how authenticated access can be leveraged for system compromise.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected Splunk installations to address this vulnerability, as the exploit requires minimal privileges and offers maximum impact. The recommended mitigations include applying the vendor-provided security patches for versions 8.2.9, 8.1.12, and 9.0.2, while also implementing network segmentation to limit access to Splunk components and monitoring for suspicious command execution patterns. Additional defensive measures should include restricting network access to the Splunk Secure Gateway app, implementing multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts, and conducting regular security assessments of Splunk configurations. The vulnerability underscores the importance of input validation in all user-facing interfaces and demonstrates how seemingly benign features like mobile alerts can become attack vectors when proper security controls are not implemented. Security teams should also monitor for indicators of compromise related to unexpected command execution and anomalous network connections originating from Splunk servers.