Getting Data In

HEC Basic Authentication

kpwaterson
Explorer

I am attempting to use an HEC with basic authentication via HTTPS, but receiving a response 403 "Forbidden" when using the authorization header as Base64 encoded username:password pair. 

The username:HEC token works as is hinted in the documentation, so my question is whether there is any way to use a user's password for authentication, or a session key from a login request, when posting data to an HEC.  

If not, are there any endpoints that will return a response on an HTTP request?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

 

Labels (1)
0 Karma
1 Solution

richgalloway
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

Based on the documentation showing authentication only using a HEC token, I infer it is not possible to use a username and password to authenticate.  One must use a token.

Consider submitting feedback on the documentation if you would like that clarified.

---
If this reply helps you, Karma would be appreciated.

View solution in original post

PickleRick
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

You must provide the token in order for HEC to work (you can many different inputs at the same API endpoint distinguished by unique token), so the token is necessary. Maybe (I haven't tested) you can _also_ provide basic auth but it seems pointless.

richgalloway
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

Based on the documentation showing authentication only using a HEC token, I infer it is not possible to use a username and password to authenticate.  One must use a token.

Consider submitting feedback on the documentation if you would like that clarified.

---
If this reply helps you, Karma would be appreciated.
Got questions? Get answers!

Join the Splunk Community Slack to learn, troubleshoot, and make connections with fellow Splunk practitioners in real time!

Meet up IRL or virtually!

Join Splunk User Groups to connect and learn in-person by region or remotely by topic or industry.

Get Updates on the Splunk Community!

[Puzzles] Solve, Learn, Repeat: Matching cron expressions

This puzzle (first published here) is based on matching timestamps to cron expressions.All the timestamps ...

Why Splunk Customers Should Attend Cisco Live 2026 Las Vegas

Why Splunk Customers Should Attend Cisco Live 2026 Las Vegas     Cisco Live 2026 is almost here, and this ...

Data Management Digest – May 2026

Welcome to the May 2026 edition of Data Management Digest!   As your trusted partner in data innovation, the ...