Security Resilience

CVE-2023-22938

Access Control in Splunk 8.1.0 – 8.1.13

Published
14 February 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 4.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0036 28th percentile
Risk Priority 36 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-22938 is a medium-severity Improper Authorization (CWE-285) vulnerability in Splunk Splunk. Its CVSS base score is 4.3 (Medium).

Operationally, ranked at the 28th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

In Splunk Enterprise versions below 8.1.13, 8.2.10, and 9.0.4, the ‘sendemail’ REST API endpoint lets any authenticated user send an email as the Splunk instance. The endpoint is now restricted to the ‘splunk-system-user’ account on the local instance.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-32709Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2023-32717Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2023-32707Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2023-22931Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2025-20297Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2023-22935Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2025-20369Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2026-20257Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2024-36992Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2025-20226Same product: Splunk Splunk

Affected Assets

splunk
splunk
8.1.0 — 8.1.13 · 8.2.0 — 8.2.10 · 9.0.0 — 9.0.4
splunk
splunk cloud platform
≤ 9.0.2209.3

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-285

Documented procedures facilitate correct implementation and ongoing management of authorization decisions.

addresses: CWE-285

Periodic reviews identify and correct flaws in authorization decisions or enforcement.

addresses: CWE-285

The control's documentation requirement reduces improper authorization by ensuring only mission-justified actions bypass authentication.

addresses: CWE-285

Establishing permitted attributes and values, plus auditing changes, ensures authorization decisions are based on correctly managed policy data.

addresses: CWE-285

Explicitly mandates authorizing remote access types before permitting connections, directly mitigating improper authorization.

addresses: CWE-285

The control explicitly requires authorization of each wireless access type prior to permitting connections.

addresses: CWE-285

Mandating explicit authorization of mobile device connections reduces the risk of improper authorization decisions for system access.

addresses: CWE-285

Specifying access authorizations for each account and requiring approvals for account requests enforces proper authorization decisions.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

blocks

A.5.1 only requires the existence of an overarching policy and topic-specific policies (including on access control); it does not itself perform or enforce any authorization check, so the CWE-285 weakness can still be exploited.

blocks

Mapping access rights to information classification and business requirements forces correct enforcement of authorization decisions, blocking the incorrect authorization weakness at the policy and implementation stage.

finds

Independent reviewers evaluate whether authorization logic matches policy, thereby reducing the window in which incorrect or missing authorization checks remain in production.

finds

By requiring managers to verify that authorization decisions match policy and to remediate deviations, the control limits the persistence of incorrect or missing authorization checks.

blocks

Requiring authorization processes and privilege assignments to be specified during project initiation prevents downstream components from receiving overly broad or incorrect rights that would allow unauthorized actions.

blocks

A.8.3 directly mandates and configures the authorization mechanisms (identity/group rights, dynamic access rules, isolation, credential enforcement) that stop CWE-285 exploitation; the bounded remainder is non-authorization exposure vectors such as error messages or observable discrepancies.

Hardening callouts derived

DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.

  • No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-285, a class-level weakness. Rules are authored against its narrower children: CWE-552.

References