CVE-2023-40597 | Absolute Path Traversal in Splunk Enterprise Using runshellscript.py

In Splunk Enterprise versions lower than 8.2.12, 9.0.6, and 9.1.1, an attacker can exploit an absolute path traversal to execute arbitrary code that is located on a separate disk.

Published: 2023-08-30 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-40597 is rated Low Risk (35.5/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.22%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-40597

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.07% 0.22% +0.15%
2 2025-11-21 0.05% 0.07% +0.02%
3 2025-11-18 — 0.05% —

Full EPSS history (7 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-40597

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.1 6.0 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.0 6.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-40597

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-40597

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
splunk splunk >= 8.2.0, < 8.2.12 cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk:*:*:*:*:enterprise:*:*:*
splunk splunk >= 9.0.0, < 9.0.6 cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk:*:*:*:*:enterprise:*:*:*
splunk splunk 9.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk:9.1.0:*:*:*:enterprise:*:*:*
splunk splunk_cloud_platform <= 9.0.2305.100 cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk_cloud_platform:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-40597

cvelogic Threat Intelligence