GitHub Repo

Detection: Splunk Unauthenticated Path Traversal Modules Messaging

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This detection has been removed from the Splunk Threat Research content library and is no longer maintained or supported.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: e7c2b064-524e-4d65-8002-efce808567aa Author: Rod Soto, Chase Franklin Type: Hunting Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

This hunting search provides information on exploitation attempts against /modules/messaging endpoint, the exploit can be clearly seen as the ../ which signals an attempt to traverse target directories.

1`splunkd_web` method=GET uri_path="/*/modules/messaging/*..*" 
2| stats min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(method) as method values(uri_path) as uri_path by host 
3| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
4| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
5| `splunk_unauthenticated_path_traversal_modules_messaging_filter`

Data Source

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

Macros Used

Name Value
splunkd_web index=_internal sourcetype=splunk_web_access
splunk_unauthenticated_path_traversal_modules_messaging_filter ``
splunk_unauthenticated_path_traversal_modules_messaging_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
T1083 File and Directory Discovery Discovery

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

Only applies to Microsoft Windows installations of Splunk.

Known False Positives

May catch other exploitation attempts using path traversal related characters.

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