CVE-2026-20240 | Denial of Service through coldToFrozen.sh Script in Splunk Enterprise

In Splunk Enterprise versions below 10.2.2, 10.0.5, 9.4.11, and 9.3.12, and Splunk Cloud Platform versions below 10.4.2603.1, 10.3.2512.9, 10.2.2510.11, 10.1.2507.21, 10.0.2503.13, and 9.3.2411.129, a low-privileged user that does not hold the ‘admin’ or ‘power’ Splunk roles could cause a Denial of Service by exploiting the `coldToFrozen.sh` script in the `splunk_archiver` app to rename critical Splunk directories, making the instance non-functional.<br><br>The Denial of Service is possible because of missing input validation in the `coldToFrozen.sh` script, which accepts arbitrary file paths and renames them without restricting operations to safe directories.

Published: 2026-05-20 Last update: 2026-05-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2026-20240 is rated Low Risk (31.8/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.05%). 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-2026-20240

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 2026-05-26 0.04% 0.05% +0.01%
2 2026-05-21 — 0.04% —

Full EPSS history (2 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-20240

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
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:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-20240

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-20240

GHSA-2fmj-cw46-4vrm · Severity: medium — In Splunk Enterprise versions below 10.2.2, 10.0.5, 9.4.11, and 9.3.12, and Splunk Cloud Platform...

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-20240

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
splunk splunk >= 9.3.0, < 9.3.12 cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk:*:*:*:*:enterprise:*:*:*
splunk splunk >= 9.4.0, < 9.4.11 cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk:*:*:*:*:enterprise:*:*:*
splunk splunk >= 10.0.0, < 10.0.5 cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk:*:*:*:*:enterprise:*:*:*
splunk splunk >= 10.2.0, < 10.2.2 cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk:*:*:*:*:enterprise:*:*:*
splunk splunk_cloud_platform >= 9.3.2411, < 9.3.2411.129 cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk_cloud_platform:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
splunk splunk_cloud_platform >= 10.0.2503, < 10.0.2503.13 cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk_cloud_platform:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
splunk splunk_cloud_platform >= 10.1.2507, < 10.1.2507.21 cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk_cloud_platform:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
splunk splunk_cloud_platform >= 10.2.2510, < 10.2.2510.11 cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk_cloud_platform:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
splunk splunk_cloud_platform >= 10.3.2512, < 10.3.2512.9 cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk_cloud_platform:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
splunk splunk_cloud_platform 10.4.2603 cpe:2.3:a:splunk:splunk_cloud_platform:10.4.2603:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-20240

cvelogic Threat Intelligence