Collect Barracuda WAF logs

Parser Version: 35.0

Supported in:

Google SecOps SIEM

This document explains how to ingest Barracuda Web Application Firewall (WAF) logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

Barracuda WAF generates logs for web traffic (TR) and web firewall events (WF) in JSON and syslog formats. The parser normalizes fields and maps them to the Unified Data Model (UDM), handling IP address resolution, directionality mapping, and severity normalization.

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 Barracuda WAF
• If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
• Privileged access to the Barracuda WAF

Get Google SecOps credentials for the Bindplane agent

To authenticate the Bindplane agent to Google SecOps, choose one of the following methods:

• New deployments: Use the Chronicle API (Option 1).
• Legacy deployments: Continue using the ingestion authentication file (Option 2) until the Ingestion API is discontinued on July 20, 2027.

Option 1: Create a service account for the Chronicle API (recommended)

1. Sign in to the Google Cloud console and select the Google Cloud project that is linked to your Google SecOps instance.
2. Go to IAM & Admin > Service Accounts.
3. Click Create service account.
4. Provide the following configuration details:
   • Service account name: Enter a name for the account (for example, bindplane-ingest).
   • Service account description: Enter a description (for example, Bindplane agent log ingestion).
5. Click Create and continue.
6. In the Grant this service account access to project section, click Select a role and select Chronicle Editor.
7. Click Continue, and then click Done.
8. Click the service account you created, and then go to the Keys tab.
9. Click Add key > Create new key.
10. Select JSON and click Create. The key file is downloaded to your computer.
11. Save the key file as ingestion-auth.json in the Bindplane collector directory (/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json on Linux or C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.json on Windows), or update creds_file_path in config.yaml to match the path where you save it.
12. Go to IAM & Admin > Settings and copy the Project number. You'll need it for the exporter configuration.

Note: The JSON key is a credential. Restrict access to the file on the Bindplane host and rotate the key according to your organization's policy.

Option 2: Download the ingestion authentication file (legacy)

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

Note: This file authenticates the agent to the legacy Ingestion API (malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com), which Google has scheduled for end of life on July 20, 2027. Plan to move to Option 1 before that date.

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 ID from the Organization Details section.

   Note: The customer ID is required for configuring the Bindplane agent exporter.

Install the Bindplane agent

Install the Bindplane agent on your Windows or Linux operating system according to the following instructions.

Windows installation

1. Open Command Prompt or PowerShell as an administrator.

2. Run the following command:

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

3. Wait for the installation to complete.

4. Verify the installation by running:

   sc query observiq-otel-collector
   

   The service should show as RUNNING.

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
   

3. Wait for the installation to complete.

4. 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 Bindplane agent installation guide.

Note: The Chronicle API exporter configuration requires Bindplane collector v1.106.0 or later. The previous commands install the latest release. If you're updating an existing installation, upgrade the collector before changing the configuration.

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

Locate the configuration file

• Linux:

  sudo nano /opt/observiq-otel-collector/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: "0.0.0.0:514"
  
  exporters:
    chronicle/barracuda_waf:
      protocol: https
      # Region of your instance, for example us, europe, asia-southeast1
      location: <LOCATION>
      # Project number of the Google Cloud project linked to the instance
      project: '<PROJECT_NUMBER>'
      compression: gzip
      creds_file_path: '/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json'
      customer_id: '<customer_id>'
      endpoint: chronicle.googleapis.com
      log_type: BARRACUDA_WAF
      raw_log_field: body
  
  service:
    pipelines:
      logs/barracuda_waf_to_chronicle:
        receivers:
          - tcplog
        exporters:
          - chronicle/barracuda_waf
  

Configuration parameters

Replace the following placeholders:

• Receiver configuration:

  • listen_address: IP address and port to listen on:
    • 0.0.0.0 to listen on all interfaces (recommended)
    • Port 514 is the standard syslog port (requires root on Linux; use 1514 for non-root)

• Exporter configuration:

  • creds_file_path: Full path to the service account JSON key file (Option 1):
    • Linux: /opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json
    • Windows: C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.json
  • customer_id: Customer ID copied from the Google SecOps console
  • location: Replace <LOCATION> with the region of your Google SecOps instance (for example, us, europe, or asia-southeast1). The exporter prefixes chronicle.googleapis.com with this value. See Regional Endpoints for the complete list.
  • project: Replace <PROJECT_NUMBER> with the project number from IAM & Admin > Settings.
  • endpoint: Keep set to chronicle.googleapis.com.

Legacy ingestion API exporter

• If you use the ingestion authentication file from Option 2, replace the exporters block with the following. Set creds_file_path to the path to the ingestion authentication file, and if your instance is outside the US, replace malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com with your regional endpoint (for example, europe-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com).

  exporters:
    chronicle/barracuda_waf:
      compression: gzip
      creds_file_path: '/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json'
      customer_id: '<customer_id>'
      endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
      log_type: BARRACUDA_WAF
      raw_log_field: body
  

Note: This exporter will stop working when the Ingestion API is discontinued on July 20, 2027.

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
  

  1. Verify the service is running:

     ```bash
     sudo systemctl status observiq-otel-collector
     ```
     

  2. Check logs for errors:

     ```bash
     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.

    4. Verify the service is running:

       sc query observiq-otel-collector
       

    5. Check logs for errors:

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

Configure Barracuda WAF

1. Sign in to the Barracuda WAF console using administrator credentials.
2. Click the Advanced tab > Export logs.
3. In the Export logs section, click Add export log server.
4. Provide the following values:
   • Name: Enter a name for the log server.
   • Log server type: Select Syslog.
   • IP Address or hostname: Enter the Bindplane IP address.
   • Port: Enter the Bindplane port.
   • Connection type: Select TCP (recommended; UDP or SSL can also be used).
   • Validate server certificate: Select No.
   • Client certificate: Select None.
   • Log timestamp and hostname: Select Yes.
5. Click Add.

UDM mapping table

Log Field	UDM Mapping	Logic
action	security_result.action	If action is DENY, set to BLOCK. Otherwise, set to ALLOW (specifically for WF log type). Also used for generic firewall events.
appProtocol	network.application_protocol	If appProtocol matches TLSv, set to HTTPS. Otherwise, use the value of appProtocol.
attackDetails	security_result.description	Extracted from the raw log for WF log type.
attackType	security_result.summary	Part of the security_result.summary, combined with ruleType.
bytesReceived	network.received_bytes	Converted to unsigned integer and mapped for TR log type.
bytesSent	network.sent_bytes	Converted to unsigned integer and mapped for TR log type.
hostName	target.hostname	If hostName is not an IP address, use its value. Otherwise, it's merged into target.ip.
httpMethod loginId	principal.user.userid	Mapped for TR log type when not equal to emptyToken.
logType	metadata.product_event_type	If TR, set metadata.product_event_type to Barracuda Access Log. If WF, set to Barracuda Web Firewall Log.
message	metadata.description	Used when desc is not empty.
referrer	network.http.referral_url	Mapped for TR log type when not equal to emptyToken.
responseCode	network.http.response_code	Converted to integer and mapped for TR log type.
rule	security_result.rule_name	Mapped for WF log type.
ruleType	security_result.summary	Part of the security_result.summary, combined with attackType.
sec_desc	security_result.rule_name	Used for generic firewall events.
server	target.ip	Merged into target.ip.
serv	target.ip	Merged into target.ip.
severity	security_result.severity	For WF log type: Converted to uppercase. If EMERGENCY, ALER, or CRITICAL, set security_result.severity to CRITICAL. If ERROR, set to HIGH. If WARNING, set to MEDIUM. If NOTICE, set to LOW. Otherwise, set to INFORMATIONAL.
src	principal.ip	Also used for generic firewall events and some status updates.
srcPort	principal.port	Converted to integer.
target targetPort	target.port	Converted to integer.
time	metadata.event_timestamp.seconds, metadata.event_timestamp.nanos, timestamp.seconds, timestamp.nanos	Combined with tz and parsed to create the event timestamp. The seconds and nanos are extracted and populated in the respective fields.
url urlParams	target.url	Appended to url if not equal to emptyToken for TR log type.
userAgent userName	target.user.userid, target.user.user_display_name	Used for generic firewall events. If not equal to emptyToken for TR log type, mapped to target.user.user_display_name. Hardcoded to Barracuda. Set to NETWORK_HTTP if both src and target are present. Set to STATUS_UPDATE if only src is present. Set to GENERIC_EVENT as a default or for other scenarios like CEF parsing. Hardcoded to BARRACUDA_WAF.
intermediary_host	event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.hostname and event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.asset.hostname	Mapped from changelog
syslog_priority	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
intermediary_ip	event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.ip and event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.asset.ip	Mapped from changelog
intermediary_port	event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.port	Mapped from changelog
attackType	event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.threat_name	Mapped from changelog
policy_scope	event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.detection_fields	Mapped from changelog
reason	event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.description	Mapped from changelog
session_id	event.idm.read_only_udm.network.session_id	Mapped from changelog
network_url	event.idm.read_only_udm.network.http.referral_url	Mapped from changelog
inter_host	null	Mapped from changelog
inter_host	intermediary.hostname	Mapped from changelog

Change Log

View the Change Log for this parser

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