Collect F5 ASM logs

Supported in:

Google secops SIEM

This document explains how to ingest F5 Application Security Manager (ASM) logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

F5 BIG-IP ASM is a web application firewall (WAF) that generates syslog messages for HTTP request violations, policy enforcement actions, and security events. The parser supports multiple log formats (CEF, syslog, CSV, Splunk, JSON) 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 tmsh

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 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

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

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell as an administrator.

Run the following command:

msiexec /i "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)" 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:
    udplog:
        listen_address: "0.0.0.0:514"

exporters:
    chronicle/f5_asm:
        compression: gzip
        creds_file_path: '/etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json'
        customer_id: '<customer_id>'
        endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
        log_type: F5_ASM
        raw_log_field: body

service:
    pipelines:
        logs/f5_asm_to_chronicle:
            receivers:
                - udplog
            exporters:
                - chronicle/f5_asm

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 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

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.
  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 syslog in F5 ASM

Sign in to the tmsh instance by typing the following command:
```
tmsh
```
Edit syslog configuration using the following command:
```
edit /sys syslog all-properties
```

Syslog configuration opens in the vi text editor and appears similar to the following example:

modify syslog {
    auth-priv-from notice
    auth-priv-to emerg
    cron-from warning
    cron-to emerg
    daemon-from notice
    daemon-to emerg
    description none
    include none
    iso-date disabled
    kern-from notice
    kern-to emerg
    mail-from notice
    mail-to emerg
    messages-from notice
    messages-to warning
    remote-servers none
    user-log-from notice
    user-log-to emerg
}

Replace the include none line with the following syslog filter:

include `
    filter f_audit{
        match(AUDIT);
    };
    destination d_syslog_server {
        udp(\`<bindplane-ip>\` port (<bindplane-port>));
    };
    log {
        source(s_syslog_pipe);
        filter(f_audit);
        destination(d_syslog_server);
    };
`

Replace <bindplane-ip> and <bindplane-port> with the actual IP address and port number configured for your Bindplane agent.
Exit vi by typing the following key sequence:
```
:wq!
```
At the following prompt, type y to save the changes to the file:
```
Save changes? (y/n/e)
```
Save the configuration by typing the following command:
```
save /sys config
```

UDM mapping table

Log Field	UDM Mapping	Logic
`act`	`security_result.action`	If `act` is `blocked`, maps to BLOCK. If `act` is `passed` or `legal`, maps to ALLOW. If `act` contains `alerted`, maps to QUARANTINE. Otherwise, defaults to ALLOW for Splunk format.
`app`	`network.application_protocol`	Directly maps to HTTPS if present in the raw log.
`attack_type`	`security_result.category_details`, `metadata.description`	Used in conjunction with other fields to determine `security_result.category`. If no other description is available, it becomes the event description. For Splunk format logs, it is used to determine category and summary if `violations` is empty.
`client_ip`	`principal.ip`, `principal.asset.ip`	Directly maps to principal IP.
`cn1`	`network.http.response_code`	Directly maps to HTTP response code.
`cn2`	`security_result.severity_details`	Directly maps to security result severity details. Used with `response_code` to determine if an event is an alert.
`column1`	`principal.ip`, `principal.asset.ip`	Maps to principal IP for certain CSV formatted logs.
`column2`	`target.port`	Maps to target port for certain CSV formatted logs.
`column3`	`target.ip`, `target.asset.ip`	Maps to target IP for certain CSV formatted logs.
`column4`	`security_result.severity`	Maps to security result severity for certain CSV formatted logs. Values `Information`, `Informational`, `0`, `4` map to INFORMATIONAL. `Warning`, `1`, `3` map to MEDIUM. `Error`, `2` map to ERROR. `Critical`, `CRITICAL`, `critical` map to CRITICAL.
`column7`	`security_result.detection_fields`, `network.http.response_code`	Contains XML data. `viol_name` within `request-violations` is extracted and added as detection fields with key `Request Violation Name_index`. `viol_name` within `response_violations` is extracted and added as detection fields with key `Response Violation Name_index`. `response_code` within `response_violations` maps to `network.http.response_code`.
`column8`	`security_result.rule_name`	Maps to security result rule name for certain CSV formatted logs.
`cs1`	`security_result.rule_name`	Directly maps to security result rule name.
`cs2`	`security_result.summary`	Directly maps to security result summary.
`cs5`	`principal.ip`, `principal.asset.ip`, `additional.fields`	If `cs5` contains a JNDI LDAP URL, it is added as an additional field with key `JNDI_LDAP_URL`. Otherwise, if it contains comma-separated IPs, any IP different from `principal_ip` is added as an additional principal IP.
`cs6`	`principal.location.country_or_region`	Directly maps to principal location country or region.
`data`	`network.session_id`, `network.sent_bytes`, `network.tls.version`	If present, parsed as JSON to extract `sessionid`, `bits` (mapped to `sent_bytes`), and `version`.
`date_time`	`metadata.event_timestamp`	Directly maps to event timestamp after parsing and converting to the correct format.
`dest_ip`	`target.ip`, `target.asset.ip`	Directly maps to target IP.
`dest_port`	`target.port`	Directly maps to target port.
`dhost`	`target.hostname`	Directly maps to target hostname.
`dpt`	`target.port`	Directly maps to target port.
`dst`	`target.ip`	Directly maps to target IP.
`dvc`	`intermediary.ip`	Directly maps to intermediary IP.
`dvchost`	`target.hostname`, `intermediary.hostname`	Directly maps to target hostname and intermediary hostname.
`errdefs_msgno`	`additional.fields`	Added as an additional field with key `errdefs_msgno`.
`externalId`	`additional.fields`	Added as an additional field with key `Support_Id`.
`f5_host`	`target.hostname`, `intermediary.hostname`	Directly maps to target hostname and intermediary hostname.
`geo_info`	`principal.location.country_or_region`, `security_result.detection_fields`	Maps to principal location country or region. Also added as a detection field with key `geo_info`.
`host`	`target.hostname`	Directly maps to target hostname.
`ids`	`additional.fields`	Parsed as a comma-separated list of support IDs. Each ID is added to a list-valued additional field with key `supportid`.
`ip_addr_intelli`	`security_result.detection_fields`	Added as a detection field with key `ip_addr_intelli`.
`ip_client`	`principal.ip`	Directly maps to principal IP.
`ip_route_domain`	`principal.ip`, `principal.asset.ip`	The IP portion is extracted and mapped to principal IP.
`irule`	`security_result.rule_name`	Directly maps to security result rule name.
`irule-version`	`security_result.rule_version`	Directly maps to security result rule version.
`level`	`security_result.severity`, `security_result.severity_details`	Used to determine security result severity. `error` or `warning` map to HIGH. `notice` maps to MEDIUM. `information` or `info` map to LOW. The raw value is also mapped to `severity_details`.
`logtime`	`metadata.event_timestamp`	Directly maps to event timestamp after parsing.
`management_ip_address`, `management_ip_address_2`	`intermediary.ip`	Directly maps to intermediary IP.
`method`	`network.http.method`	Directly maps to HTTP method.
`msg`	`security_result.summary`, `metadata.description`	Directly maps to security result summary for some log formats. If no other description is available, it becomes the event description.
`policy_name`	`security_result.about.resource.name`, `security_result.rule_name`	Directly maps to security result resource name or rule name.
`process`	`target.application`	Directly maps to target application.
`process_id`	`principal.process.pid`	Directly maps to principal process ID.
`protocol`	`network.application_protocol`, `network.ip_protocol`, `app_protocol`	Directly maps to application protocol or IP protocol depending on the log format.
`proxy_id`	`security_result.rule_id`	Directly maps to security result rule ID.
`query_string`	`additional.fields`	Added as an additional field with key `query_string`.
`referrer`	`network.http.referral_url`	Directly maps to HTTP referral URL.
`req_method`	`network.http.method`	Directly maps to HTTP method.
`req_status`	`security_result.action`, `security_result.action_details`, `security_result.detection_fields`	If `blocked`, maps `security_result.action` to BLOCK. If `passed` or `legal`, maps to ALLOW. If contains `alerted`, maps to QUARANTINE. The raw value is also mapped to `action_details` and added as a detection field with key `req_status`.
`request`	`target.url`	Directly maps to target URL.
`requestMethod`	`network.http.method`	Directly maps to HTTP method.
`resp`	`security_result.detection_fields`	Added as a detection field with key `resp`.
`resp_code`	`network.http.response_code`	Directly maps to HTTP response code.
`response`	`security_result.summary`	Directly maps to security result summary.
`response_code`	`network.http.response_code`	Directly maps to HTTP response code.
`route_domain`	`additional.fields`	Added as an additional field with key `route_domain`.
`rt`	`metadata.event_timestamp`	Directly maps to event timestamp after parsing.
`sev`	`security_result.severity`, `security_result.severity_details`	Used to determine security result severity. `ERROR` maps to ERROR. The raw value is also mapped to `severity_details`.
`severity`	`security_result.severity`, `security_result.severity_details`	Used to determine security result severity. `Informational` maps to LOW, `Error` or `warning` map to HIGH, `critical` maps to CRITICAL, `notice` maps to MEDIUM, `information` or `info` map to LOW. The raw value is also mapped to `severity_details`.
`sig_ids`	`security_result.rule_id`	Directly maps to security result rule ID.
`sig_names`	`security_result.rule_name`	Directly maps to security result rule name.
`snat_ip`	`principal.nat_ip`	Directly maps to principal NAT IP.
`snat_port`	`principal.nat_port`	Directly maps to principal NAT port.
`src`	`principal.ip`, `principal.asset.ip`	Directly maps to principal IP.
`spt`	`principal.port`	Directly maps to principal port.
`sub_violates`	`security_result.about.resource.attribute.labels`	Added as a label with key `Sub Violations` to security result resource attributes.
`sub_violations`	`security_result.about.resource.attribute.labels`	Added as a label with key `Sub Violations` to security result resource attributes.
`summary`	`security_result.summary`	Directly maps to security result summary.
`support_id`	`metadata.product_log_id`	Prefixed with `support_id -` and mapped to product log ID.
`suid`	`network.session_id`	Directly maps to network session ID.
`suser`	`principal.user.userid`	Directly maps to principal user ID.
`timestamp`	`metadata.event_timestamp`	Directly maps to event timestamp after parsing and converting to the correct format.
`unit_host`	`principal.hostname`, `principal.asset.hostname`	Directly maps to principal hostname.
`uri`	`principal.url`	Directly maps to principal URL.
`user_id`	`principal.user.userid`	Directly maps to principal user ID.
`user_name`	`principal.user.user_display_name`	Directly maps to principal user display name.
`username`	`principal.user.userid`	Directly maps to principal user ID.
`useragent`	`network.http.user_agent`, `network.http.parsed_user_agent`	Directly maps to HTTP user agent. Also parsed and mapped to parsed user agent.
`virtualserver`	`network.tls.client.server_name`	Directly maps to TLS client server name.
`violate_details`	`security_result.detection_fields`, `network.http.response_code`	Contains XML data. `viol_name` within `request-violations` is extracted and added as detection fields with key `Request Violation Name_index`. `viol_name` within `response_violations` is extracted and added as detection fields with key `Response Violation Name_index`. `response_code` within `response_violations` maps to `network.http.response_code`.
`violate_rate`	`security_result.detection_fields`	Added as a detection field with key `violate_rate`.
`violation_rating`	`security_result.about.resource.attribute.labels`	Added as a label with key `Violations Rating` to security result resource attributes.
`violations`	`security_result.description`	Directly maps to security result description. For Splunk format logs, it is used to determine summary if present.
`virus_name`	`security_result.threat_name`	Directly maps to security result threat name.
`vs_name`	`network.tls.client.server_name`	Directly maps to TLS client server name.
`websocket_direction`	`network.direction`	If `clientToServer`, maps to INBOUND. If `ServerToclient`, maps to OUTBOUND.
`websocket_message_type`	`security_result.detection_fields`	Added as a detection field with key `WebsocketMessageType`.
`x_fwd_hdr_val`	`principal.ip`, `principal.asset.ip`	Directly maps to principal IP.

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