Getting Data In

How do I convince Splunk that a backslash inside a CSV field is not an escape character?

chmod_007
New Member

I have the following row in a CSV file that I am ingesting into a Splunk index:

"field1","field2","field3\","field4"

Excel and the default Python CSV reader both correctly parse that as 4 separate fields. Splunk does not. It seems to be treating the backslash as an escape character and interpreting field3","field4 as a single mangled field. It is my understanding that the standard escape character for double quotes inside a quoted CSV field is another double quote, according to RFC-4180:

"If double-quotes are used to enclose fields, then a double-quote appearing inside a field must be escaped by preceding it with another double quote."

Why is Splunk treating the backslash as an escape character, and is there any way to change that configuration via props.conf or any other way? I have set:

INDEXED_EXTRACTIONS = csv
KV_MODE = none

for this sourcetype in props.conf, and it is working fine for rows without backslashes in them.

Labels (3)
0 Karma
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!

Meet the .conf26 AI Agent Buildathon Winners

At the .conf26 AI Agent Buildathon, Splunk users turned their operational expertise into working AI agents ...

Trusted Autonomy in the SOC: A Maturity Journey

AI is compressing attacker timelines and pushing SOC teams beyond human capacity thresholds. The next SOC ...

Supercharging Windows Security Detection Performance: Introducing Hybrid Field ...

Windows event logs—from Security auditing and Sysmon to PowerShell script blocks—form the operational backbone ...