Collect VSFTPD logs

Supported in:

This document explains how to ingest VSFTPD logs to Google Security Operations using Bindplane. The parser uses grok patterns to extract fields from the logs, mapping them to the UDM. It handles various log types, including logins, uploads, downloads, and directory operations, enriching the data with additional context like SSL/TLS information and actions (allow/block). It also performs specific transformations for different log message types, such as extracting response codes and descriptions, and converting file sizes to integers.

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 host with VSFTPD

Get Google SecOps ingestion authentication file

  1. Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
  2. Go to SIEM Settings > Collection Agents.
  3. Download the Ingestion Authentication File. Save the file securely on the system where Bindplane will be installed.

Get Google SecOps customer ID

  1. Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
  2. Go to SIEM Settings > Profile.
  3. 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

  1. Open the Command Promptor PowerShellas an administrator.
  2. Run the following command:

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

Linux installation

  1. Open a terminal with root or sudo privileges.
  2. 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

  1. 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).
  2. 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 
     : 
      
     'VSFTPD' 
      
     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 VSFTPD

  1. Sign in to the VSFTPD host.
  2. To install rsyslog in Ubuntu/Debian, run the following command:

     sudo  
    apt  
    install  
    rsyslog 
    
  3. To install rsyslog in CentOS/RHEL, run the following command:

     sudo  
    yum  
    install  
    rsyslog 
    
  4. Edit the vsftpd configuration to use Syslog:

     sudo  
    vi  
    /etc/vsftpd.conf 
    
  5. Ensure the following parameters are set:

      syslog_enable 
     = 
     YES 
     xferlog_enable 
     = 
     NO 
     log_ftp_protocol 
     = 
     YES 
     
    
  6. Save and exit.

  7. Restart vsftpd:

     sudo  
    systemctl  
    restart  
    vsftpd 
    
  8. Edit the rsyslog configuration to forward logs to the Bindplane agent:

     sudo  
    nano  
    /etc/rsyslog.d/90-vsftpd.conf 
    
  9. Add the following line to forward logs using UDP (default port 514 ):

      if 
      
     ( 
     $programname 
      
     == 
      
     'vsftpd' 
     ) 
      
     then 
      
    @@BINDPLANE_IP:514 
    
  10. Replace BINDPLANE_IP with the actual Bindplane agent IP address.

    • Use @ for UDP, @@ for TCP.
  11. Restart rsyslog:

     sudo  
    systemctl  
    restart  
    rsyslog 
    

UDM Mapping Table

Log Field UDM Mapping Logic
certificate
security_result.detection_fields.key : "cert"
security_result.detection_fields.value : value of certificate
The value of the certificate field is mapped to a security_result.detection_fields object with the key "cert".
cipher
network.tls.cipher The value of the cipher field is directly mapped.
client_ip
principal.ip The value of the client_ip field is directly mapped.
date
metadata.event_timestamp Used with month , year , and time to construct the metadata.event_timestamp . The format is derived from the timestamp field in the raw log, parsed, and converted to a timestamp object.
day
metadata.event_timestamp Used with month , year , and time to construct the metadata.event_timestamp .
desc
metadata.description The value of the desc field (extracted from the type field) is directly mapped. This applies to "MKDIR", "RMDIR", and "DELETE" operations.
description
network.ftp.command
security_result.description
target.file.full_path
If type is "FTP command", the value is mapped to network.ftp.command . If type is "DEBUG" and doesn't match specific SSL patterns, it's mapped to security_result.description . If type starts with "OK" and is not "OK LOGIN", and the log describes a file operation (MKDIR, RMDIR, DELETE), it's mapped to target.file.full_path .
file_name
target.file.full_path The value of the file_name field is directly mapped.
file_size
network.received_bytes
network.sent_bytes
If type is "OK DOWNLOAD" or "FAIL DOWNLOAD", the value is converted to an unsigned integer and mapped to network.received_bytes . If type is "OK UPLOAD" or "FAIL UPLOAD", the value is converted to an unsigned integer and mapped to network.sent_bytes . Set to "USER_LOGIN" if type is "OK LOGIN". Set to "FILE_UNCATEGORIZED" if type is related to file operations ("OK UPLOAD", "OK DOWNLOAD", "FAIL DOWNLOAD", "OK MKDIR", "OK RMDIR", "OK DELETE", "FAIL UPLOAD"). Set to "STATUS_UPDATE" for all other type values. Always set to "VSFTPD". Always set to "VSFTPD". Always set to "VSFTPD".
month
metadata.event_timestamp Used with day , year , and time to construct the metadata.event_timestamp .
pid
principal.process.pid The value of the pid field is directly mapped.
response_code
network.http.response_code The value of the response_code field is converted to an integer and mapped.
reused_status
security_result.detection_fields.key : "reused status"
security_result.detection_fields.value : value of reused_status
The value of the reused_status field is mapped to a security_result.detection_fields object with the key "reused status".
speed
additional.fields.key : "download_speed" or "upload_speed"
additional.fields.value.string_value : value of speed
If type is "OK DOWNLOAD" or "FAIL DOWNLOAD", the value is mapped to additional.fields with the key "download_speed". If type is "OK UPLOAD" or "FAIL UPLOAD", the value is mapped to additional.fields with the key "upload_speed".
ssl_shutdown_state
security_result.detection_fields.key : "SSL Shutdown State"
security_result.detection_fields.value : value of ssl_shutdown_state
The value of the ssl_shutdown_state field is mapped to a security_result.detection_fields object with the key "SSL Shutdown State".
ssl_version
network.tls.version The value of the ssl_version field is directly mapped.
time
metadata.event_timestamp Used with day , month , and year to construct the metadata.event_timestamp .
type
metadata.description
security_result.action_details
The value of the type field is mapped to metadata.description except when it's "OK LOGIN". It is also mapped to security_result.action_details when it indicates an allow or block action (starts with "OK" or "FAIL").
userid
principal.user.userid
target.user.userid
If type is "OK LOGIN", the value is mapped to target.user.userid . Otherwise, it's mapped to principal.user.userid .
year
metadata.event_timestamp Used with day , month , and time to construct the metadata.event_timestamp . Set to "NETWORK" if type is "OK LOGIN". Set to "MACHINE" if type is "OK LOGIN". Set to "ALLOW" if type starts with "OK". Set to "BLOCK" if type starts with "FAIL".

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