CVE-2026-76298: Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key in the PostgreSQL Sidecar Service in Splunk Enterprise
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.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
Splunk Enterpriseto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 10.4.4 - Upgrade
Upgrade
Splunk Enterpriseto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 10.2.8 - Upgrade
Upgrade
Splunk Enterpriseto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 10.0.11 - Upgrade
Upgrade
Splunk Enterpriseto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 9.4.16
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
Which deployments should be prioritized for remediation?
Prioritize Splunk Enterprise search head cluster members running versions below 10.4.4 or 10.2.8. The impact is tied to the PostgreSQL sidecar service on those cluster members.
What level of access does an attacker need?
A Splunk user who does not have the admin or power role can exploit the issue. The search head cluster identifier needed to derive the privileged database password appears in search job logs.
What is the resulting operating-system impact?
An attacker who derives the PostgreSQL sidecar database superuser password can run arbitrary operating-system commands as the user account that runs Splunk Enterprise. The described impact is on search head cluster members.