Privilege escalation in Splunk

CVE-2026-76253

In Splunk Enterprise versions below 10.4.2, 10.2.6, 10.0.9, and 9.4.14, a user that holds a role with the schedule_search capability could run arbitrary Search Processing Language (SPL) commands with the highest level of system privilege and read every credential stored in the credential store, which can allow for disclosure and modification of all relevant data and affect system integrity and availability. The vulnerability is possible because scheduled search alert action configuration does not properly restrict user-specific alert action settings before the search scheduler runs alert actions. For more information see Create scheduled alerts (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/alert-and-respond/alerting-manual/9.3/create-alerts/create-scheduled-alerts), Set up alert actions (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/alert-and-respond/alerting-manual/9.3/configure-alert-actions/set-up-alert-actions), 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 Configuration file precedence (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/admin-manual/10.2/administer-splunk-enterprise-with-configuration-files/configuration-file-precedence) in the Splunk documentation.

Vulnerability class: Privilege Escalation

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.004 (34.5th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 34th percentile — 34.5% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-76253: held from 0.004 to 0.004.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.004 · change: +0.001

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-76253?
CVE-2026-76253 is a high-severity vulnerability in Splunk, classified under Improper Privilege Management. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2026-08-19.
How severe is CVE-2026-76253?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.