Splunk Improperly Formatted Parameter Crashes splunkd

SPLUNK detection rule by Chase Franklin, Rod Soto, Splunk · Apache-2.0

The following analytic detects the execution of improperly formatted INGEST_EVAL parameters in Splunk Enterprise, which can crash the splunkd service. It leverages the Splunk_Audit.Search_Activity datamodel to identify ad-hoc searches containing specific keywords. This activity is significant because it can disrupt Splunk operations, leading to potential data loss and service downtime. If confirmed malicious, an attacker could exploit this to cause a denial of service, impacting the availability and reliability of the Splunk environment.

name: Splunk Improperly Formatted Parameter Crashes splunkd
id: 08978eca-caff-44c1-84dc-53f17def4e14
version: 8
creation_date: '2023-02-14'
modification_date: '2026-05-14'
author: Chase Franklin, Rod Soto, Splunk
status: removed
type: TTP
description: The following analytic detects the execution of improperly formatted INGEST_EVAL parameters in Splunk Enterprise, which can crash the splunkd service. It leverages the Splunk_Audit.Search_Activity datamodel to identify ad-hoc searches containing specific keywords. This activity is significant because it can disrupt Splunk operations, leading to potential data loss and service downtime. If confirmed malicious, an attacker could exploit this to cause a denial of service, impacting the availability and reliability of the Splunk environment.
data_source:
    - Splunk
search: |-
    | tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time)
    as lastTime from datamodel=Splunk_Audit.Search_Activity where (Search_Activity.search="*makeresults*"AND
    Search_Activity.search="*ingestpreview*transforms*") Search_Activity.search_type=adhoc
    Search_Activity.search!="*splunk_improperly_formatted_parameter_crashes_splunkd_filter*"
    Search_Activity.user!=splunk-system-user by Search_Activity.search, Search_Activity.info,
    Search_Activity.total_run_time, Search_Activity.user, Search_Activity.search_type
    | `drop_dm_object_name(Search_Activity)` 
    | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
    | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
    | `splunk_improperly_formatted_parameter_crashes_splunkd_filter`
how_to_implement: Requires access to audittrail and use of Splunk_Audit.Search_Activity datamodel.
known_false_positives: This is a hunting search it should be focused on affected products, otherwise it is likely to produce false positives.
references:
    - https://advisory.splunk.com/advisories/SVD-2023-0211
    - https://advisory.splunk.com/advisories/SVD-2024-1006
rba:
    message: An attempt to exploit ingest eval parameter was detected from $user$
    risk_objects:
        - field: user
          type: user
          score: 100
    threat_objects: []
tags:
    analytic_story:
        - Splunk Vulnerabilities
    asset_type: Splunk Server
    cve:
        - CVE-2023-22941
        - CVE-2024-45736
    mitre_attack_id:
        - T1499
    product:
        - Splunk Enterprise
    security_domain: threat
deprecation_info:
    reason: Detection is deprecated as the associated CVEs have been patched in the latest Splunk release.
    removed_in_version: 5.16.0
    replacement_content: []

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3155d22b-b9b6-4be3-90ad-1ed4a353d8fe

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Executable code, not a declarative rule

This submission is arbitrary [[ currentRule.format ? currentRule.format.toUpperCase() : '' ]] code, not a declarative detection rule — review it as you would any script before running it, and note that it cannot be safely aggregated or auto-executed alongside YARA/Sigma/Suricata/CRS rules.

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Format & documentation suggestions

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