Description
In Splunk Enterprise versions below 10.4.4 and 10.2.8, a user who does not hold the "admin" or "power" Splunk roles could derive the PostgreSQL sidecar database superuser password and run arbitrary operating system commands as the user account running Splunk Enterprise on search head cluster members.
The vulnerability is possible because the PostgreSQL sidecar service derives a privileged database password from the search head cluster identifier that appears in search job logs.
For more information see About configuring role-based user access (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/manage-users-and-security/10.2/manage-splunk-platform-users-and-roles/about-configuring-role-based-user-access), server.conf (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/admin-manual/10.2/configuration-file-reference/10.2.0-configuration-file-reference/server.conf), and Sidecar configuration settings (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/admin-manual/10.4/splunk-sidecars/sidecar-configuration-settings) in the Splunk documentation.
Published: 2026-10-21
Score: 8.8 High
EPSS: n/a
KEV: No
AI Analysis

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Remediation

Vendor Solution

Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to versions 10.4.4, 10.2.8, 10.0.11, and 9.4.16 or higher.


Vendor Workaround

If you cannot immediately upgrade to a fixed version, turn off the PostgreSQL sidecar service. Add the following stanza in the `server.conf` configuration file: `[postgres]` `disabled = true`. Restart Splunk Enterprise for the change to take effect. Do not apply this workaround if you use Edge Processor, OpAmp, or SPL2 data pipelines on the instance. Turning off PostgreSQL breaks these features and can cascade to dependent sidecar processes. Core search, indexing, and dashboard functionality are not affected. For more information see [Sidecar configuration settings](https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/admin-manual/10.4/splunk-sidecars/sidecar-configuration-settings) in the Splunk documentation.

Tracking

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Advisories

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History

Thu, 22 Oct 2026 08:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Splunk
Splunk splunk Enterprise
Vendors & Products Splunk
Splunk splunk Enterprise

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 23:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In Splunk Enterprise versions below 10.4.4 and 10.2.8, a user who does not hold the "admin" or "power" Splunk roles could derive the PostgreSQL sidecar database superuser password and run arbitrary operating system commands as the user account running Splunk Enterprise on search head cluster members. The vulnerability is possible because the PostgreSQL sidecar service derives a privileged database password from the search head cluster identifier that appears in search job logs. For more information see About configuring role-based user access (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/manage-users-and-security/10.2/manage-splunk-platform-users-and-roles/about-configuring-role-based-user-access), server.conf (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/admin-manual/10.2/configuration-file-reference/10.2.0-configuration-file-reference/server.conf), and Sidecar configuration settings (https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/admin-manual/10.4/splunk-sidecars/sidecar-configuration-settings) in the Splunk documentation.
Title Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key in the PostgreSQL Sidecar Service in Splunk Enterprise
Weaknesses CWE-321
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 8.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}


Subscriptions

Splunk Splunk Enterprise
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: cisco

Published:

Updated: 2026-10-21T22:52:00.185Z

Reserved: 2026-08-19T12:02:03.623Z

Link: CVE-2026-76298

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-10-21T23:17:27.817

Modified: 2026-10-21T23:17:27.817

Link: CVE-2026-76298

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-10-22T08:30:03Z

Weaknesses