CVE-2026-20238

Vulnerability

CVE-2026-20238 is an improper access control vulnerability in the Splunk AI Toolkit app (versions below 5.7.3). The app's authorize.conf file contains a srchFilter entry that modifies the built-in 'user' role. Because the Splunk platform combines inherited search filters with the OR operator, this less restrictive filter can override more restrictive srchFilter entries on custom child roles, leading to unintended data access [1].

Exploitation

A low-privileged user who does not hold the 'admin' or 'power' roles can exploit this issue. The attacker needs only network access and a valid low-privilege account; no special privileges are required. The vulnerability lies in the role inheritance mechanism: the srchFilter from the built-in 'user' role (modified by the app) is combined with any surchFilter on the user's assigned child role using OR, thereby bypassing the more restrictive filters intended to protect confidential data [1].

Impact

A successful exploit allows an attacker to access confidential data that should be restricted by srchFilter configurations on custom roles. The CVSSv3.1 score is 6.5 (Medium), with the vector indicating network-based, low-complexity attack with low privileges and no user interaction, resulting in high confidentiality impact [1].

Mitigation

Users should upgrade Splunk AI Toolkit to version 5.7.3 or higher, which fixes the issue. If immediate upgrade is not possible, the advisory provides workarounds: either stop the app, or manually edit the authorize.conf file to remove or override the problematic srchFilter entry, then restart the Splunk instance. However, these workarounds may make the ai_agent_run_history_index index searchable by all users unless additional restrictions are applied [1].