Splunk Search

Using values from search into subsearch

hoytn
Explorer

Hello,

In a timerange (lets say 4 hours) I am trying to find password resets and after that, for the same user, all the logins.
Is it possible to this in a search? I was looking at append but I don't see how I can use the field user and _time from first search (finding the password resets) to filter the second search (finding the logins)

Thank you.

Tags (1)

nvanderwalt_spl
Splunk Employee
Splunk Employee

You probably need something along these lines (adjust fields and indexes as needed)

 index=auth type=login [search index=auth type=failed  earliest=-4h |stats count by user |fields user]

Richfez
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

I recommend taking as much time as is necessary to fully understand the fine tutorial in the docs. Of course that requires having set up and gone through the tutorial...

Another good resource is also in the docs, the page about subsearches.

When you have really tried to understand those two things, try your search/subsearch again and see where that gets you.

Then maybe this helps - the subsearch RUNS FIRST. Right? It runs, and its results get shoved into the main search as search criteria.

mybasesearch [some search that returns a name of either "Billy" or "Sally"]
Ends up being
mybasesearch (name=Billy OR name=Sally)
E.g the subsearch JUST returns its results as search items.

(More or less. Unless you change the formatting. Etc... But I mean by default).

if you've tried both things mentioned in the help, an yet still have problems, post your SPL and both the results you get, but also the results you'd expect to have. And a few events from the results of the search (without subsearch) and the subsearch (run independently from the search).

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!

Cisco Data Fabric from Architecture to Investigation, Better SOC Visibility, and More ...

Splunk Lantern is Splunk’s customer success center that provides practical guidance from Splunk experts on key ...

The Trust Gap: Why a Data Foundation is Fundamental to an Agentic Enterprise

The Trust Gap: Why a data foundation is fundamental to an  Agentic Enterprise.   Agentic AI is transforming ...

Data Management Digest – September 2026

    Welcome to the September 2026 edition of Data Management Digest! September brought a fresh wave of ...