Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-32712

Splunk 8.1.0 – 8.1.14

Published
01 June 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.6
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0034 27th percentile
Risk Priority 60 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-32712 is a high-severity Improper Output Neutralization for Logs (CWE-117) vulnerability in Splunk Splunk. Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Content Injection (T1659); ranked at the 27th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 InjectionA09:2025 Security Logging and Alerting Failures

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

In Splunk Enterprise versions below 9.1.0.2, 9.0.5.1, and 8.2.11.2, an attacker can inject American National Standards Institute (ANSI) escape codes into Splunk log files that, when a vulnerable terminal application reads them, can potentially, at worst, result in possible code…

more

execution in the vulnerable application. This attack requires a user to use a terminal application that supports the translation of ANSI escape codes to read the malicious log file locally in the vulnerable terminal, and to perform additional user interaction to exploit. Universal Forwarder versions 9.1.0.1, 9.0.5, 8.2.11, and lower can be vulnerable in situations where they have management services active and accessible over the network. Universal Forwarder versions 9.0.x and 9.1.x bind management services to the local machine and are not vulnerable in this specific configuration. See SVD-2022-0605 for more information. Universal Forwarder versions 9.1 use Unix Domain Sockets (UDS) for communication, which further reduces the potential attack surface. The vulnerability does not directly affect Splunk Enterprise or Universal Forwarder. The indirect impact on Splunk Enterprise and Universal Forwarder can vary significantly depending on the permissions in the vulnerable terminal application and where and how the user reads the malicious log file. For example, users can copy the malicious file from the Splunk Enterprise instance and read it on their local machine.

CWE(s)
CWE-117CWE-116

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1659 Content Injection Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access and continuously communicate with victims by injecting malicious content into systems through online network traffic.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
attack.mitre.org →
T1070 Indicator Removal Stealth
Adversaries may selectively delete or modify artifacts generated to reduce indications of their presence and blend in with legitimate activity.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-36984Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2025-20319Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2024-23678Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2023-32711Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2024-29946Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2023-22942Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2026-20253Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2025-20323Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2024-45734Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2024-45739Same product: Splunk Splunk

Affected Assets

splunk
splunk
8.1.0 — 8.1.14 · 8.2.0 — 8.2.11 · 9.0.0 — 9.0.5

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.1.2
  • V1.2.1
  • V1.2.3

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.

SI-15 Information Output Filtering
addresses: CWE-116 CWE-117

Validating that output matches expected content directly mitigates failures to properly encode or escape data for its destination context.

AU-1 Policy and Procedures
addresses: CWE-117

Policy and procedures require sanitization and neutralization when generating audit logs to avoid injection issues.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

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

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices and coding standards directly require output sanitization for logs.

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.

A.8.28 Secure coding mostly match
prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly require correct output encoding and escaping to preserve message structure.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing can detect log injection flaws but does not prevent them at the source.

A.8.15 Logging partial match
degrades

Logging control directly requires proper log generation and handling, which mitigates improper output neutralization.

A.8.16 Monitoring activities partial match
finds

Monitoring activities rely on trustworthy logs but do not ensure log message integrity.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC includes coding standards that reduce log-related weaknesses but does not specifically address logging.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements include explicit rules for safe output handling and encoding.

References