Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-32714

Path Traversal in Splunk 8.1.0 – 8.1.14

Published
01 June 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.43 99th percentile
Risk Priority 78 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-32714 is a high-severity Path Traversal: '.../...//' (CWE-35) vulnerability in Splunk Splunk. Its CVSS base score is 8.1 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

The vulnerability CVE-2023-32714 is a path traversal flaw present in the Splunk App for Lookup File Editing in versions below 4.0.1. It is tracked under CWE-22 and CWE-35 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.1, reflecting network-accessible attack vectors with low complexity and low required privileges.

A low-privileged user can trigger the issue by submitting a specially crafted web request, enabling unauthorized reads and writes within restricted portions of the Splunk installation directory and thereby compromising confidentiality and integrity of the affected instance.

Splunk advisory SVD-2023-0608 and associated research publications direct administrators to upgrade the app to version 4.0.1 or later to remediate the exposure.

The EPSS score rose from lower values after disclosure to a peak of 0.3257 on 2025-12-11 before receding to the current 0.2067, indicating that exploitation interest emerged subsequent to public release.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

In the Splunk App for Lookup File Editing versions below 4.0.1, a low-privileged user can, with a specially crafted web request, trigger a path traversal exploit that can then be used to read and write to restricted areas of the…

more

Splunk installation directory.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

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.
T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
T1083 File and Directory Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may enumerate files and directories or may search in specific locations of a host or network share for certain information within a file system.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-36991Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2023-40597Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2026-20137Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2024-45731Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2024-0067Shared CWE-22, CWE-35
CVE-2024-2654Shared CWE-22, CWE-35
CVE-2025-41736Shared CWE-22, CWE-35
CVE-2023-21418Shared CWE-22, CWE-35
CVE-2025-40573Shared CWE-22, CWE-35
CVE-2024-49770Shared CWE-22, CWE-35

Affected Assets

splunk
splunk
8.1.0 — 8.1.14 · 8.2.0 — 8.2.11 · 9.0.0 — 9.0.5
splunk
splunk app for lookup file editing
≤ 4.0.1

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)
  • V5.3.2

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-22

Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.

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 directly require input validation and path sanitization that neutralize traversal sequences.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.

PR.AA-05 none match
prevents

PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.

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.

finds

Security testing in development can detect path-traversal flaws before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path-handling controls that directly mitigate path traversal.

prevents

Application security requirements include rules for safe file-path construction and canonicalization.

prevents

Secure architecture principles require proper directory restrictions and input sanitization to prevent traversal.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path concatenation and mandate canonicalization routines.

mitigates

Information access restriction limits file reachability but does not address the input-validation flaw itself.

References