Collect F5 AFM logs

Parser Version: 23.0

Supported in:

Google secops SIEM

This document explains how to ingest F5 Advanced Firewall Management (AFM) logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

F5 BIG-IP AFM is a network firewall module that generates syslog messages for firewall rule actions (accept, drop, reject), IP intelligence events, and TCP errors. The parser extracts fields from CSV-formatted or syslog-formatted logs and maps them to the Unified Data Model (UDM).

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 F5 BIG-IP appliance
• If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
• Privileged access to F5 BIG-IP and F5 Advanced Firewall Management

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.

4. Save the file securely on the system where the Bindplane agent will be installed.

   Note: This JSON file contains credentials for authenticating the Bindplane agent to Google SecOps.

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 the Bindplane agent installation guide.

Configure 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: "0.0.0.0:5145"
  
  exporters:
      chronicle/f5_afm:
          compression: gzip
          creds_file_path: '/etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json'
          customer_id: '<customer_id>'
          endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
          log_type: F5_AFM
          raw_log_field: body
  
  service:
      pipelines:
          logs/f5_afm_to_chronicle:
              receivers:
                  - tcplog
              exporters:
                  - chronicle/f5_afm
  

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 5145 is used for F5 AFM high-speed logging (adjust to match your F5 configuration)

• Exporter configuration:

  • creds_file_path: Full path to ingestion authentication file:
    • Linux: /etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json
    • Windows: C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.json
  • customer_id: Customer ID copied from the Google SecOps console
  • 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 complete list

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:

     sudo systemctl status observiq-otel-collector
     

  2. 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.

    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"
       

Enable F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager

1. Sign in to the BIG-IP appliance management console.
2. Go to System > License.
3. Verify that the Advanced Firewall Manager is licensed and enabled.
4. To enable the Advanced Firewall Manager, go to System > Resource > Provisioning.
5. Select the checkbox from the Provisioning column and select Nominal from the list.
6. Click Submit.

Configure Logging Pool in F5 AFM

1. Go to Local Traffic > Pools.
2. Click Create.
3. Provide the following configuration details:
   • Name: Enter a name for the logging pool (for example, logging_pool).
   • Health Monitor: In the Available list, select TCP and click <<.
4. In the Resource tab, select the Logging Pool you created earlier from the Node Name list.
5. In the Address field, enter the Bindplane agent IP address.
6. In the Service Port field, enter 5145 or other port as you defined in the Bindplane agent.
7. Click Add.
8. Click Finish.

Configure the formatted log destination in F5 AFM

1. Go to System > Logs > Configuration > Log Destinations.
2. Click Create.
3. Provide the following configuration details:
   • Name: Enter a name for the logging format destination (for example, Logging_Format_Destination).
   • Description: Enter a description.
   • Type: Select Remote Syslog.
   • Syslog Format: Select Syslog.
   • High-Speed Log Destination: Select your high-speed logging destination (for example, Logging_HSL_Destination).
4. Click Finished.

Configure Log Publisher in F5 AFM

1. Go to System > Logs > Configuration > Log Publishers.
2. Click Create.
3. Provide the following configuration details:
   • Name: Enter a name for the publisher (for example, Log_Publisher).
   • Description: Enter a description.
   • Destinations: Select the log destination name that you created in the Configure Logging Pool in F5 AFM step and click << to add items to the Selected list.

Configure Logging Profile in F5 AFM

1. Go to Security > Event Logs > Logging Profile.
2. Click Create.
3. Provide the following configuration details:
   • Name: Enter a name for the log profile (for example, Logging_Profile).
   • Network Firewall: Select the Enabled checkbox.
   • Publisher: Select the log publisher that you configured earlier (for example, Log_Publisher).
   • Log Rule Matches: Select the Accept, Drop, and Reject checkboxes.
   • Log IP Errors: Select the Enabled checkbox.
   • Log TCP Errors: Select the Enabled checkbox.
   • Log TCP Events: Select the Enabled checkbox.
   • Storage Format: Select Field-List.
   • Delimiter: Enter , (comma) as the delimiter for events.
   • Storage Options: Select all of the options in the Available Items list and click <<.
   • In the IP Intelligence tab, select the log publisher that you configured (for example, Log_Publisher).
4. Click Finished.

Configure Virtual Server Profile Association in F5 AFM

1. Go to Local Traffic > Virtual Servers.
2. Select the virtual server to modify.
3. Go to the Security tab > Policies.
4. From the Log Profile list, select Enabled.
5. From the Profile field, select Logging_Profile and click <<.
6. Click Update.

UDM mapping table

Log field	UDM mapping	Logic
acl_policy_name	security_result.detection_fields.acl_policy_name	Value of column22 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value of column13
acl_policy_type	security_result.detection_fields.acl_policy_type	Value of column21 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value of column18
acl_rule_name	security_result.rule_name	Value of column23 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value of column11
acl_rule_uuid	security_result.rule_id	Value of acl_rule_uuid field from the grok pattern
action	security_result.action	If value of column25 is Drop, Reject or Block then BLOCK, else if value of column25 is Accept, Accept decisively, Established or Allow then ALLOW
attackID	security_result.detection_fields.attackID	Value of column12 if the log format is CSV with no src_ip
bigip_hostname	intermediary.hostname	Value of column2 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value of column3
bigip_ip	intermediary.ip	Value of column2 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value of column1
context_name	additional.fields.context_name.string_value	Value of column4 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value of column10 if there is src_ip, else value of column5
context_type	additional.fields.context_type.string_value	Value of column3 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value of column4 if there is src_ip, else value of column4
dest_fqdn	additional.fields.dest_fqdn.string_value	Value of column7 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value of column13
dest_geo	additional.fields.dest_geo.string_value	Value of column14
dest_ip	target.asset.ip, target.ip	Value of column8 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value of column6 if there is src_ip, else value of column6
dest_port	target.port	Value of column10 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value of column8 if there is src_ip, else value of column8
drop_reason	security_result.summary	Value of column26 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value of column19
eventId	additional.fields.eventId.string_value	Value captured in the grok pattern
flow_id	additional.fields.flow_id.string_value	Value of column29 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value of column17
loglevel	security_result.severity	If value of loglevel field from the grok pattern is warning,debug or notice then MEDIUM, else if value is info or informational then INFORMATIONAL, else if value is err or error then HIGH, else if value is alert, crit or emer then CRITICAL
packetsReceived	network.received_packets	Value of column15 if the log format is CSV with no src_ip
process	target.application	Value of process field from the grok pattern
protocol_number_src	network.ip_protocol	Value of column12 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value extracted from the ip_protocol_out variable
route_domain	additional.fields.route_domain.string_value	Value of column13 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value of column9
source_fqdn	additional.fields.source_fqdn.string_value	Value of column5 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value of column7
src_geo	additional.fields.src_geo.string_value	Value of column8
src_ip	principal.asset.ip, principal.ip	Value of column6 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value of column9 if the log format is CSV with no src_ip, else value of column5
src_port	principal.port	Value of column9 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value of column7 if the log format is CSV with no src_ip, else value of column7
ts	metadata.event_timestamp	Value of ts field from the grok pattern
vlan	additional.fields.vlan.string_value	Value of column11 if the log format is SYSLOG, else value of column21
	metadata.event_type	If src_ip and dest_ip exist then NETWORK_CONNECTION, else if only src_ip exists then STATUS_UPDATE, else GENERIC_EVENT
	metadata.log_type	F5_AFM
	metadata.product_name	Advanced Firewall Management
	metadata.vendor_name	F5
partition	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
level	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
tty	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
attempts	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
start	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
end	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
prin_ip	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.ip and event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.asset.ip	Mapped from changelog
internal_tag	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
src_zone	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
dest_zone	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
translated_dest_ip	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
translated_dest_port	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
translated_source_ip	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
translated_source_port	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
syslog_reporter_host	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
sa_translation_pool	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
sa_translation_type	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
translated_route_domain	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
send_to_vs	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
src_zone	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.resource.attribute.labels	Mapped from changelog
dest_zone	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.resource.attribute.labels	Mapped from changelog
acl_policy_name	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
acl_policy_type	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
chronicle_log_type	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
chronicle_namespace	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
flow_id	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
vlan	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
route_domain	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
partition_name	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
source_ipint_categories	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.resource.attribute.labels	Mapped from changelog
src_geo	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.resource.attribute.labels	Mapped from changelog
source_fqdn	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.resource.attribute.labels	Mapped from changelog
dest_ipint_categories	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.resource.attribute.labels	Mapped from changelog
dst_geo	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.resource.attribute.labels	Mapped from changelog
dest_fqdn	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.resource.attribute.labels	Mapped from changelog
acl_rule_name	event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.rule_name	Mapped from changelog
acl_rule_id	event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.rule_id	Mapped from changelog
action	event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.action	Mapped from changelog
bigip_mgmt_ip	event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.ip	Mapped from changelog
context_name	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.resource.name	Mapped from changelog
context_type	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.resource.type	Mapped from changelog
date_time	event.idm.read_only_udm.metadata.event_timestamp	Mapped from changelog
dest_ip	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.ip and event.idm.read_only_udm.target.asset.ip	Mapped from changelog
net.peer.ip	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.ip and event.idm.read_only_udm.target.asset.ip	Mapped from changelog
dest_port	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.port	Mapped from changelog
net.peer.port	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.port	Mapped from changelog
device_version	event.idm.read_only_udm.metadata.product_version	Mapped from changelog
drop_reason	event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.summary	Mapped from changelog
hostname	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.hostname and event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.asset.hostname	Mapped from changelog
ip_protocol	event.idm.read_only_udm.network.ip_protocol	Mapped from changelog
source_ip	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.ip and event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.asset.ip	Mapped from changelog
net.host.ip	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.ip and event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.asset.ip	Mapped from changelog
source_port	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.port	Mapped from changelog
net.host.port	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.port	Mapped from changelog
errdefs_msg_name	event.idm.read_only_udm.metadata.product_event_type	Mapped from changelog
errdefs_msgno	event.idm.read_only_udm.metadata.product_log_id	Mapped from changelog
source_user	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.user.userid	Mapped from changelog
source_user_group	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.user.group_identifiers	Mapped from changelog
severity	event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.severity_details	Mapped from changelog
dvchost	event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.hostname and event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.asset.hostname	Mapped from changelog
dvc	event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.ip and event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.asset.ip	Mapped from changelog
c6a2	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.resource.attribute.labels	Mapped from changelog
F5SrcZone	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.resource.attribute.labels	Mapped from changelog
F5SrcFqdn	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.resource.attribute.labels	Mapped from changelog
F5SrcUser	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.user.attribute.labels	Mapped from changelog
c6a3	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.resource.attribute.labels	Mapped from changelog
F5DstZone	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.resource.attribute.labels	Mapped from changelog
F5DstVlan	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.resource.attribute.labels	Mapped from changelog
F5DstFqdn	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.resource.attribute.labels	Mapped from changelog
F5SendToVs	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
F5SrcIpiCategories	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
F5DstIpiCategories	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
module	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
tid	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
cpu	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
cmd_line	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.process.command_line	Mapped from changelog
msg_data	event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.summary	Mapped from changelog
pid	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.process.pid	Mapped from changelog
user	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.user.userid	Mapped from changelog
folder_path	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.file.full_path	Mapped from changelog
status	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
cmd_data	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
target_ip	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.ip and event.idm.read_only_udm.target.asset.ip	Mapped from changelog
desc	metadata.description	Mapped from changelog
prin_port	principal.port	Mapped from changelog
target_port	target.port	Mapped from changelog
ts2	metadata.event_timestamp	Mapped from changelog
tls_ver	network.tls.version	Mapped from changelog
cipher	network.tls.cipher	Mapped from changelog
prod_event_type	metadata.product_event_type	Mapped from changelog
path	target.url	Mapped from changelog
response_size	network.sent_bytes	Mapped from changelog
received_size	network.received_bytes	Mapped from changelog
usr	principal.user.userid	Mapped from changelog
schema_version	target.resource.attribute.labels	Mapped from changelog
severity_info	security_result.severity_details	Mapped from changelog
target_pid	target.process.pid	Mapped from changelog
additional1	additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
dvc	intermediary.hostname	Mapped from changelog
metadata.event_type	USER_UNCATEGORIZED	Mapped from changelog
prin_ip	principal.ip	Mapped from changelog
F5FlowID	additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
F5TranslatedVlan	additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
F5SrcTranslationType	additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
F5SrcTranslationPool	additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
F5SrcGeo	additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
F5DstGeo	additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
F5RouteDomain	additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
Column12	security_result.detection_fields	Mapped from changelog
Column14	security_result.action	Mapped from changelog

Change Log

View the Change Log for this parser

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