GitHub Repo

Detection: Splunk Unauthenticated DoS via Null Pointer References

REMOVED DETECTION

This detection has been removed from the Splunk Threat Research content library and is no longer maintained or supported.

Reason: Detection is deprecated as the associated CVEs have been patched in the latest Splunk release.

Removed in version: 5.6.0

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at research@splunk.com.

Updated Date: 2026-05-14 ID: d67594fe-c317-41b8-9319-ec8428d5c2ea Author: Rod Soto Type: Hunting Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following hunting search provides information on splunkd crash as a result of a Denial of Service Exploitation via null pointer references which targets 'services/cluster/config' endpoint.

1`splunk_crash_log` "Segmentation fault" "POST /services/cluster/config" 
2| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as  lastTime by host 
3| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
4| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
5| `splunk_unauthenticated_dos_via_null_pointer_references_filter`

Data Source

Name Platform Sourcetype Source
Splunk Splunk icon Splunk 'splunkd_ui_access' 'splunkd_ui_access.log'

Macros Used

Name Value
splunk_crash_log (index=_internal AND sourcetype=splunkd_crash_log)
splunk_unauthenticated_dos_via_null_pointer_references_filter ``
splunk_unauthenticated_dos_via_null_pointer_references_filter is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Annotations

- MITRE ATT&CK
+ Kill Chain Phases
+ NIST
+ CIS
- Threat Actors
ID Technique Tactic
T1499 Endpoint Denial of Service Impact

CVE

Default Configuration

This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:

Setting Value
Disabled true
Cron Schedule N/A
Earliest Time N/A
Latest Time N/A
Schedule Window N/A
Creates Finding (Notable) No
Creates Intermediate Finding (Risk Event) No
Hunting detections do not generate a Finding (Notable) or Intermediate Findings (Risk Events).

Implementation

Requires access to internal indexes.

Known False Positives

This is a hunting search and will produce false positives. An operator needs to find proximity and detail of requests targeting cluster config endpoint and subsequent Segmentation fault in splunk crash log.

Associated Analytic Story

References

Detection Testing

Test Type Status Dataset Source Sourcetype
Validation Not Applicable N/A N/A N/A
Unit Not Applicable N/A N/A N/A

Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py tool or the UI. Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range

Source: GitHub |

Version: 5