Collect Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) logs
This document explains how to ingest Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) logs to Google Security Operations using Bindplane. The parser extracts fields from the syslog messages, handling both JSON and plain text formats. It uses grok patterns to identify key fields, including timestamps, severity, and message content, and then populates the UDM model with extracted data, including principal and intermediary information when available within the logs.
Before you begin
Make sure you have the following prerequisites:
- Google SecOps instance
- Windows 2016 or later, or a Linux host with
systemd
- If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open
- Privileged access to the Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
- Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers running AireOS 8.8.111.0 or later software
Get Google SecOps ingestion authentication file
- Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
- Go to SIEM Settings > Collection Agents.
- Download the Ingestion Authentication File.
- Save the file securely on the system where Bindplane will be installed.
Get Google SecOps customer ID
- Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
- Go to SIEM Settings > Profile.
- Copy and save the Customer IDfrom the Organization Detailssection.
Install the Bindplane agent
Install the Bindplane agent on your Windows or Linux operating system according to the following instructions.
Windows installation
- Open the Command Promptor PowerShellas an administrator.
-
Run the following command:
msiexec / i "https://github.com/observIQ/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/observiq-otel-collector.msi" / quiet
Linux installation
- Open a terminal with root or sudo privileges.
-
Run the following command:
sudo sh -c " $( curl -fsSlL https://github.com/observiq/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/install_unix.sh ) " install_unix.sh
Additional installation resources
For additional installation options, consult the installation guide .
Configure the BindPlane agent to ingest Syslog and send to Google SecOps
- Access the configuration file:
- Locate the
config.yaml
file. Typically, it's in the/etc/bindplane-agent/
directory on Linux or in the installation directory on Windows. - Open the file using a text editor (for example,
nano
,vi
, or Notepad).
- Locate the
-
Edit the
config.yaml
file as follows:receivers : udplog : # Replace the port and IP address as required listen_address : "0.0.0.0:514" exporters : chronicle/chronicle_w_labels : compression : gzip # Adjust the path to the credentials file you downloaded in Step 1 creds_file_path : '/path/to/ingestion-authentication-file.json' # Replace with your actual customer ID from Step 2 customer_id : < customer_id > endpoint : malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com # Add optional ingestion labels for better organization log_type : 'CISCO_WIRELESS' raw_log_field : body ingestion_labels : service : pipelines : logs/source0__chronicle_w_labels-0 : receivers : - udplog exporters : - chronicle/chronicle_w_labels
- Replace the port and IP address as required in your infrastructure.
- Replace
<customer_id>
with the actual customer ID. - Update
/path/to/ingestion-authentication-file.json
to the path where the authentication file was saved in the Get Google SecOps ingestion authentication file section.
Restart the Bindplane agent to apply the changes
-
To restart the Bindplane agent in Linux, run the following command:
sudo systemctl restart bindplane-agent
-
To restart the Bindplane agent in Windows, you can either use the Servicesconsole or enter the following command:
net stop BindPlaneAgent && net start BindPlaneAgent
Configure Syslog on Cisco WLC (GUI)
- Sign in to the WLCweb UI.
- Go to Management > Logs > Config.
- Enter the Bindplane agent IP address in the Syslog Server IP Addressfield.
- Click Add.
- Provide the following configuration details:
- Syslog Severity: Select Informational.
- Syslog Facility: Select Local Use 0.
- Click Apply.
-
Click Save Configuration.
UDM mapping table
Log Field | UDM Mapping | Logic |
---|---|---|
action_data
|
read_only_udm.security_result.action_details
|
Directly mapped from the action_data
field. |
data
|
read_only_udm.metadata.description
|
Directly mapped from the data
field after some processing (e.g., removing timestamps, extra characters). Extracted from the timestamp at the beginning of the log message. Various formats are handled by the parser. Determined based on the mnemonic
and messageToProcess
fields using complex logic within the cisco_wireless.include
file. Set to "CISCO_WIRELESS". Concatenation of facility
, cisco_severity
, and mnemonic
fields. Extracted from the log message when available. Set to "CISCO_WIRELESS". Extracted from the version
field when available. Set to "CISCO". Set to "DHCP" when the event relates to DHCP. Set to "BROADCAST" for broadcast network events. Set to "UDP" for UDP network events. Extracted from the description when available. Extracted from the description when available. Mapped from wlc_controller
or hostname
fields, depending on the log format. Extracted from the description or MessageSourceAddress
when available. Mapped from wlc_controller
or hostname
fields, depending on the log format. Extracted from the description or MessageSourceAddress
when available. Extracted from the description when available. Extracted from the description when available. Created from SourceModuleName
and SourceModuleType
fields when available. Mapped from read_only_udm.principal.user.userid
when the userid looks like an email address. Extracted from the description when available. Extracted from the description when available. Determined based on the event type and description. Determined based on the event type and description. Created from specific fields within the description when available. Extracted from the description when available. Sometimes combines information from multiple fields. Determined based on the cisco_severity
field and event type. Derived from the read_only_udm.security_result.severity
field. A concise summary of the security result, derived from the description and event type. Extracted from the description when available. Extracted from the description when available. Extracted from the description when available. Extracted from the description when available. Extracted from the description when available. Extracted from the description when available. Extracted from the description when available. Set to "SETTING" for setting modification events. Extracted from the description when available. |
event_data
|
read_only_udm.metadata.product_event_type
|
Directly mapped from the event_data
field. |
event_id
|
read_only_udm.metadata.product_log_id
|
Directly mapped from the event_id
field. |
event_ts
|
read_only_udm.metadata.event_timestamp
|
Directly mapped from the event_ts
field. |
facility
|
read_only_udm.metadata.product_event_type
|
Directly mapped from the facility
field. |
hostname
|
read_only_udm.principal.hostname
|
Directly mapped from the hostname
field. |
hostname
|
read_only_udm.target.hostname
|
Directly mapped from the hostname
field. |
inter_mac
|
read_only_udm.intermediary.mac
|
Directly mapped from the inter_mac
field. |
intermediary_hostname
|
read_only_udm.intermediary.hostname
|
Directly mapped from the intermediary_hostname
field. |
kv_data
|
read_only_udm.principal.resource.attribute.labels
|
Parsed as key-value pairs and used to populate labels. |
log_message
|
read_only_udm.security_result.description
|
Directly mapped from the log_message
field. |
MessageSourceAddress
|
read_only_udm.principal.asset.ip
|
Directly mapped from the MessageSourceAddress
field. |
MessageSourceAddress
|
read_only_udm.principal.ip
|
Directly mapped from the MessageSourceAddress
field. |
messageToProcess
|
read_only_udm.metadata.description
|
Directly mapped from the messageToProcess
field after some processing. |
mnemonic
|
read_only_udm.metadata.event_type
|
Used in conjunction with other fields to determine the event type. |
mnemonic
|
read_only_udm.metadata.product_event_type
|
Directly mapped from the mnemonic
field. |
severity_data
|
read_only_udm.security_result.severity
|
Mapped from the severity_data
field after converting it to an enum value. |
SourceModuleName
|
read_only_udm.principal.resource.attribute.labels
|
Directly mapped from the SourceModuleName
field. |
SourceModuleType
|
read_only_udm.principal.resource.attribute.labels
|
Directly mapped from the SourceModuleType
field. |
timestamp
|
read_only_udm.metadata.event_timestamp
|
Directly mapped from the timestamp
field. |
version
|
read_only_udm.metadata.product_version
|
Directly mapped from the version
field. |
wlc_controller
|
read_only_udm.principal.hostname
|
Directly mapped from the wlc_controller
field. |
wlc_controller
|
read_only_udm.target.hostname
|
Directly mapped from the wlc_controller
field. |
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