Try in Splunk Security Cloud

Description

The following analytic identifies potential Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attempts via the 'layoutPanel' attribute in the 'module' tag within XML Views in Splunk Enterprise versions below 8.1.13, 8.2.10, and 9.0.4. It leverages internal logs from "splunk_web_service" and "splunk_python" sourcetypes, focusing on messages containing "loadParams." This activity is significant as it can lead to unauthorized script execution within the Splunk Web interface, potentially compromising the security of the instance. If confirmed malicious, attackers could execute arbitrary scripts, leading to data theft, session hijacking, or further exploitation of the Splunk environment.

  • Type: Hunting

  • Product: Splunk Enterprise, Splunk Enterprise Security, Splunk Cloud

  • Last Updated: 2024-05-13
  • Author: Rod Soto, Eric McGinnis, Splunk
  • ID: 9ac2bfea-a234-4a18-9d37-6d747e85c2e4

Annotations

ATT&CK

ATT&CK

ID Technique Tactic
T1189 Drive-by Compromise Initial Access
Kill Chain Phase
  • Delivery
NIST
  • DE.AE
CIS20
  • CIS 10
CVE 


1
2
3
4



index = _internal sourcetype IN ("splunk_web_service", "splunk_python") message="*loadParams*" 
| `security_content_ctime(_time)` 
|  table _time message fileName 
| `splunk_xss_via_view_filter`

Macros

The SPL above uses the following Macros:

:information_source: splunk_xss_via_view_filter is a empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Required fields

List of fields required to use this analytic.

  • message
  • fileName

How To Implement

This data is collected by default in Splunk. Upon first enabling this rule, a number of errors may be observed. Those that are due to improperly formatted, but non-nefarious, XML views should be be remedied in the corresponding view. Please take care investigating potential XSS as accessing an affected page could retrigger the exploit.

Known False Positives

The error detected above can be generated for a wide variety of improperly formatted XML views. There will be false positives as the search cannot extract the malicious payload and the view should be manually investigated.

Associated Analytic Story

RBA

Risk Score Impact Confidence Message
25.0 50 50 Potential stored XSS attempt via $fileName$

:information_source: The Risk Score is calculated by the following formula: Risk Score = (Impact * Confidence/100). Initial Confidence and Impact is set by the analytic author.

Reference

Test Dataset

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 | version: 2