Collect HashiCorp Vault audit logs

Supported in:

Google secops SIEM

This document explains how you can ingest HashiCorp Vault audit logs to Google Security Operations using Bindplane.

HashiCorp Vault is a secrets management and data protection platform that provides secure storage, dynamic secrets generation, data encryption, and identity-based access control. Vault produces audit logs that record all requests and responses to Vault, including authentication, secret access, and policy changes. These audit logs can be forwarded using syslog to a SIEM for security monitoring and compliance.

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following prerequisites:

A Google SecOps instance.
Windows Server 2016 or later, or Linux host with systemd .
Network connectivity between the Bindplane agent and the HashiCorp Vault server.
If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements.
Privileged access to the HashiCorp Vault server (root token or sufficient policy permissions to enable audit devices).

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 Command Promptor PowerShellas an administrator.

Run the following command:

  msiexec 
  
 / 
 i 
  
 "[https://github.com/observIQ/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/observiq-otel-collector.msi](https://github.com/observIQ/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/observiq-otel-collector.msi)" 
  
 / 
 quiet

Wait for the installation to complete.
Verify the installation by running:
```
 sc query observiq-otel-collector 
```

The service should show as RUNNING.

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 ]( 
https://github.com/observiq/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/install_unix.sh ) 
 )" 
  
install_unix.sh

Wait for the installation to complete.

Verify the installation by running:

 sudo  
systemctl  
status  
observiq-otel-collector

The service should show as active (running).

Additional installation resources

For additional installation options and troubleshooting, see the Bindplane agent installation guide .

Configure the Bindplane agent to ingest syslog and send to Google SecOps

Locate the configuration file

Linux:

 sudo  
nano  
/etc/bindplane-agent/config.yaml

Windows:

 notepad "C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\config.yaml"

Edit the configuration file

Replace the entire contents of config.yaml with the following configuration:

  receivers 
 : 
  
 tcplog 
 : 
  
 listen_address 
 : 
  
 "0.0.0.0:1514" 
 exporters 
 : 
  
 chronicle/vault 
 : 
  
 compression 
 : 
  
 gzip 
  
 creds_file_path 
 : 
  
 '/etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json' 
  
 customer_id 
 : 
  
 'your-customer-id-here' 
  
 endpoint 
 : 
  
 malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com 
  
 log_type 
 : 
  
 HASHICORP 
  
 raw_log_field 
 : 
  
 body 
  
 ingestion_labels 
 : 
  
 env 
 : 
  
 production 
 service 
 : 
  
 pipelines 
 : 
  
 logs/vault_to_chronicle 
 : 
  
 receivers 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 tcplog 
  
 exporters 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 chronicle/vault

Configuration parameters

Replace the following placeholders:

Receiver configuration:
- listen_address : IP address and port to listen on. Use 0.0.0.0 to listen on all interfaces. Port 1514 is recommended to avoid requiring root privileges on Linux.
Exporter configuration:
- creds_file_path : Full path to the ingestion authentication file:
  - Linux: /etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json
  - Windows: C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.json
- customer_id : Your Google SecOps customer ID.
- endpoint : Regional endpoint URL:
  - US: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
  - Europe: europe-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
  - Asia: asia-southeast1-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
  - See Regional Endpoints for the complete list.
- ingestion_labels : Optional labels in YAML format (for example, env: production ).

Save the configuration file

After editing, save the file:

Linux: Press Ctrl+O , then Enter , then Ctrl+X
Windows: Click File > Save

Restart the Bindplane agent to apply the changes

To restart the Bindplane agent in Linux:

Run the following command:

 sudo  
systemctl  
restart  
observiq-otel-collector

Verify the service is running:

 sudo  
systemctl  
status  
observiq-otel-collector

Check logs for errors:

 sudo  
journalctl  
-u  
observiq-otel-collector  
-f

To restart the Bindplane agent in Windows:

Choose one of the following options:
- Command Prompt or PowerShell as administrator:
```
 net stop observiq-otel-collector && net start observiq-otel-collector 
```
- Services console:
  1. Press Win+R , type services.msc , and press Enter.
  2. Locate observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector.
  3. Right-click and select Restart.
Verify the service is running:
```
 sc query observiq-otel-collector 
```

Check logs for errors:

  type 
  
 "C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\log\collector.log"

Configure HashiCorp Vault audit log forwarding via syslog

Vault audit devices log all requests and responses. You can enable a syslog audit device to forward audit logs to the Bindplane agent.

Enable syslog audit device

Open a terminal with access to the Vault CLI and a valid Vault token.
Run the following command to enable the syslog audit device:
```
 vault  
audit  
 enable 
  
syslog  
 tag 
 = 
 "vault" 
  
 facility 
 = 
 "AUTH" 
 
```
Note: The tag parameter sets the syslog tag for all Vault audit log messages. The facility parameter specifies the syslog facility (for example, AUTH , LOCAL0 through LOCAL7 ).
Verify the audit device is enabled:
```
 vault  
audit  
list 
```

The output should show the syslog audit device as enabled.

Configure syslog forwarding to Bindplane agent

After enabling the Vault syslog audit device, configure the system syslog daemon (rsyslog or syslog-ng) to forward Vault audit logs to the Bindplane agent.

Option - rsyslog configuration

Create a new rsyslog configuration file:

 sudo  
nano  
/etc/rsyslog.d/50-vault-forward.conf

Add the following configuration:
```
 # Forward Vault audit logs to Bindplane agent
if $programname == 'vault' then @@BINDPLANE_IP:1514 
```
Replace BINDPLANE_IP with the IP address of the Bindplane agent host.

Note: @@ specifies TCP transport. Use @ for UDP transport.
Restart rsyslog:
```
 sudo  
systemctl  
restart  
rsyslog 
```

Option - syslog-ng configuration

Edit the syslog-ng configuration file:

 sudo  
nano  
/etc/syslog-ng/conf.d/vault-forward.conf

Add the following configuration:

 destination d_bindplane {
    network("BINDPLANE_IP" port(1514) transport("tcp"));
};

filter f_vault {
    program("vault");
};

log {
    source(s_src);
    filter(f_vault);
    destination(d_bindplane);
};

Replace BINDPLANE_IP with the IP address of the Bindplane agent host.

Restart syslog-ng:

 sudo  
systemctl  
restart  
syslog-ng

Alternative - file-based audit with log forwarder

If syslog audit is not preferred, you can enable a file audit device and forward the file contents:

Enable file audit device:

 vault  
audit  
 enable 
  
file  
 file_path 
 = 
/var/log/vault/audit.log

Configure rsyslog to monitor and forward the file:

 sudo  
nano  
/etc/rsyslog.d/50-vault-file-forward.conf

 module(load="imfile")
input(type="imfile"
    File="/var/log/vault/audit.log"
    Tag="vault-audit"
    Severity="info"
    Facility="auth")

if $syslogtag == 'vault-audit' then @@BINDPLANE_IP:1514

Replace BINDPLANE_IP with the IP address of the Bindplane agent host.

Restart rsyslog:
```
 sudo  
systemctl  
restart  
rsyslog 
```

Verify log forwarding

Perform a Vault operation (for example, login or read a secret):
```
 vault  
login  
 token 
 = 
<YOUR_TOKEN> 
```
Check the Bindplane agent logs to confirm logs are being received.

For more information, see the HashiCorp Vault audit devices documentation .

UDM mapping table

Log Field	UDM Mapping	Logic
`auth.client_token`	`network.session_id`	Value taken from `auth.client_token` (hashed).
`auth.display_name`	`principal.user.user_display_name`	Value taken from `auth.display_name` .
`auth.metadata.role_name`	`principal.user.attribute.roles.name`	Value taken from `auth.metadata.role_name` .
`auth.policies`	`principal.user.attribute.permissions.name`	Values taken from `auth.policies` array.
`auth.token_type`	`additional.fields`	Value taken from `auth.token_type` and added with key `token_type` .
`request.id`	`metadata.product_log_id`	Value taken from `request.id` .
`request.operation`	`metadata.product_event_type`	Value taken from `request.operation` .
`request.path`	`target.resource.name`	Value taken from `request.path` .
`request.remote_address`	`principal.ip`	Value taken from `request.remote_address` .
`request.namespace.id`	`target.namespace`	Value taken from `request.namespace.id` .
`response.auth.client_token`	`network.session_id`	Value taken from response `client_token` (hashed).
`type`	`metadata.product_event_type`	Appended to operation (for example, `request` or `response` ).
`time`	`metadata.event_timestamp`	Parsed as RFC3339 timestamp.
`error`	`security_result.description`	Value taken from `error` if present.
	`metadata.vendor_name`	Set to HashiCorp.
	`metadata.product_name`	Set to Vault.
	`metadata.event_type`	Set to USER_RESOURCE_ACCESSfor secret operations, USER_LOGINfor auth operations, GENERIC_EVENTotherwise.

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