Security Resilience

CVE-2023-46214

Splunk 9.0.0 – 9.0.7

High EPSS
Published
16 November 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.0
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.89 99.8th percentile
Risk Priority 82 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-2023-46214 is a high-severity aka Blind XPath Injection (CWE-91) vulnerability in Splunk Splunk. Its CVSS base score is 8.0 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Security Account Manager (T1003.002); ranked in the top 0.2% 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.

Splunk Enterprise versions below 9.0.7 and 9.1.2 are affected by CVE-2023-46214, a flaw in which the product fails to safely sanitize extensible stylesheet language transformations supplied by users. The issue is tracked under CWE-91 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.0.

An authenticated attacker who can upload XSLT content may exploit the weakness to achieve remote code execution on the Splunk Enterprise instance. The attack requires user interaction and involves high complexity, yet successful exploitation yields complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability with changed scope.

Splunk advisory SVD-2023-1104 directs customers to upgrade to version 9.0.7 or 9.1.2, the releases that contain the necessary fixes for this input-handling deficiency.

The associated EPSS score currently stands at 0.8786 with a recorded peak of 0.8793.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

In Splunk Enterprise versions below 9.0.7 and 9.1.2, Splunk Enterprise does not safely sanitize extensible stylesheet language transformations (XSLT) that users supply. This means that an attacker can upload malicious XSLT which can result in remote code execution on the…

more

Splunk Enterprise instance.

CWE(s)
CWE-91

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003.002 Security Account Manager Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to extract credential material from the Security Account Manager (SAM) database either through in-memory techniques or through the Windows Registry where the SAM database is stored.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
attack.mitre.org →
T1011.001 Exfiltration Over Bluetooth Exfiltration
Adversaries may attempt to exfiltrate data over Bluetooth rather than the command and control channel.
attack.mitre.org →
T1018 Remote System Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of other systems by IP address, hostname, or other logical identifier on a network that may be used for Lateral Movement from the current system.
attack.mitre.org →
T1021 Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may use [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
T1021.001 Remote Desktop Protocol Lateral Movement
Adversaries may use [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-23677Same product: Splunk Cloud
CVE-2024-36982Same product: Splunk Cloud
CVE-2023-46213Same product: Splunk Cloud
CVE-2024-36987Same product: Splunk Cloud
CVE-2024-36986Same product: Splunk Cloud
CVE-2024-36989Same product: Splunk Cloud
CVE-2024-23675Same product: Splunk Cloud
CVE-2024-23676Same product: Splunk Cloud
CVE-2026-76344Same product: Splunk Splunk
CVE-2026-76317Same product: Splunk Splunk

Affected Assets

splunk
cloud
≤ 9.1.2308
splunk
splunk
9.0.0 — 9.0.7 · 9.1.0 — 9.1.2

Mitigating Controls

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 partial match
blocks

Secure SDLC directly requires input neutralization and validation that eliminates XML injection flaws.

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.8.15 Logging partial match
finds

Logging can record injection attempts for detection but does not prevent the weakness.

A.8.16 Monitoring activities partial match
finds

Monitoring can detect exploitation but provides no preventive control over XML handling.

A.8.19 Installation of software on operational systems partial match
removes
A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
blocks

A.8.25 mandates secure SDLC practices (secure coding guidelines, security requirements, checkpoints, testing including code scans) that reach XML injection when developers follow them, but leaves a minority slice where implementation is incomplete or the outsourced supplier assurance fails.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
blocks

A.8.26 requires identifying and specifying security requirements (including resilience against SQL injections and input validation) determined via risk assessment; this can address XML injection for some applications but leaves a bounded remainder where requirements are scoped narrowly, not fully enforced in code, or miss XML-specific neutralization.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
blocks

A.8.27 mandates security-by-design principles, secure architecture patterns (defense-in-depth, least privilege, distrust external input, fail securely), design reviews against known attack patterns, and data validation/sanitization guidance that reach a slice of XML injection cases, but leaves the dominant code-level neutralization defect untouched without further implementation-specific controls.

References