SPLK-1002 Transactions and Event Correlation Practice Question
A large e-commerce company is using Splunk to monitor user sessions across multiple microservices. Each service logs events with a common 'session_id' field. The security team wants to identify sessions where a user performed a 'password_change' action followed by a 'login' from a different IP address within 5 minutes, indicating possible account takeover. The current search uses `transaction session_id startswith=action=login endswith=action=password_change maxspan=10m`. However, the search returns very few results, and the team suspects it is missing many attacks. The logs show that sometimes 'password_change' occurs before 'login' (e.g., password reset then login) and the IP changes are observed across multiple events. The team needs to capture both orderings. Which approach should they take?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use `transaction session_id maxspan=5m` and then filter for sessions that contain both actions
The current search only captures one order (login then password_change). To capture both orders, they should either use `transaction session_id maxspan=5m` without startswith/endswith and then filter, or use two separate transactions and combine. The best option is to use `transaction session_id maxspan=5m` and then search for events where both actions occur, because it avoids order dependency and is simpler.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Use `transaction session_id maxspan=5m` and then filter for sessions that contain both actions
Why this is correct
This captures any order within 5 minutes, then filter for both actions.
- ✗
Use `transaction session_id startswith=action=password_change endswith=action=login maxspan=5m` in a separate search and append results
Why it's wrong here
This option fails because `transaction` with `startswith` and `endswith` enforces a strict event order within each individual search, preventing the capture of *both* event orderings and the crucial IP address change within a single, flexible transaction. While running two separate searches and appending results can combine distinct datasets, it does not resolve the core requirement to dynamically identify either event sequence where the IP address differs across the grouped events. This approach is tempting as it correctly identifies how to find specific sequential event pairs and combine their results if the order was fixed and the IP comparison was handled post-transaction.
- ✗
Keep the current search but increase maxspan to 30m
Why it's wrong here
Does not fix the ordering issue; still only one direction.
- ✗
Add both startswith and endswith with OR conditions: `startswith=(action=login OR action=password_change) endswith=(action=login OR action=password_change)`
Why it's wrong here
This would cause any event to be both start and end, leading to many one-event transactions.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SPLK-1002 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Splunk certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SPLK-1002 exam.