Splunk XSS in Monitoring Console

SPLUNK detection rule by Lou Stella, Splunk · Apache-2.0

The following analytic identifies attempts to exploit a reflective Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Splunk Distributed Monitoring Console app. It detects GET requests with suspicious query parameters by analyzing `splunkd_web` logs in the _internal index. This activity is significant because it targets a known vulnerability (CVE-2022-27183) that could allow attackers to execute arbitrary scripts in the context of the user's browser. If confirmed malicious, this could lead to unauthorized actions, data theft, or further compromise of the Splunk environment.

name: Splunk XSS in Monitoring Console
id: b11accac-6fa3-4103-8a1a-7210f1a67087
version: 7
creation_date: '2025-05-12'
modification_date: '2026-05-14'
author: Lou Stella, Splunk
status: removed
type: TTP
description: The following analytic identifies attempts to exploit a reflective Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Splunk Distributed Monitoring Console app. It detects GET requests with suspicious query parameters by analyzing `splunkd_web` logs in the _internal index. This activity is significant because it targets a known vulnerability (CVE-2022-27183) that could allow attackers to execute arbitrary scripts in the context of the user's browser. If confirmed malicious, this could lead to unauthorized actions, data theft, or further compromise of the Splunk environment.
data_source: []
search: '`splunkd_web` method="GET" uri_query="description=%3C*" | table _time host status clientip user uri | `splunk_xss_in_monitoring_console_filter`'
how_to_implement: This detection does not require you to ingest any new data. The detection does require the ability to search the _internal index. This detection will find attempted exploitation of CVE-2022-27183.
known_false_positives: Use of the monitoring console where the less-than sign (<) is the first character in the description field.
references:
    - https://www.splunk.com/en_us/product-security/announcements/svd-2022-0505.html
rba:
    message: A potential XSS attempt has been detected from $user$
    risk_objects:
        - field: host
          type: system
          score: 40
    threat_objects: []
tags:
    analytic_story:
        - Splunk Vulnerabilities
    asset_type: Endpoint
    cve:
        - CVE-2022-27183
    mitre_attack_id:
        - T1189
    product:
        - Splunk Enterprise
        - Splunk Enterprise Security
        - Splunk Cloud
    security_domain: threat
tests:
    - name: True Positive Test
      attack_data:
          - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1189/xss/splunk_web_access.log
            source: /opt/splunk/var/log/splunk/web_access.log
            sourcetype: splunk_web_access
deprecation_info:
    reason: Detection is deprecated as the associated CVEs have been patched in the latest Splunk release.
    removed_in_version: 5.6.0
    replacement_content: []

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