Collect pfSense logs

Supported in:

This document explains how to ingest pfSense logs to Google Security Operations using Bindplane.

pfSense is an open-source firewall and router software distribution based on FreeBSD. It provides stateful packet filtering, VPN, traffic shaping, NAT, DHCP server, DNS forwarder, and intrusion detection capabilities, all managed through a web-based interface. The parser extracts fields from pfSense syslog formatted logs. It uses grok to parse the log message and then maps these values to the Unified Data Model (UDM). It also sets default metadata values for the event source and type.

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following prerequisites:

  • A Google SecOps instance
  • Windows Server 2016 or later, or Linux host with systemd
  • If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
  • Privileged access to the pfSense web interface

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 ID from the Organization Details section.

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.

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:
    udplog:
        listen_address: "0.0.0.0:514"

exporters:
    chronicle/chronicle_w_labels:
        compression: gzip
        creds_file_path: '/path/to/ingestion-authentication-file.json'
        customer_id: 'YOUR_CUSTOMER_ID'
        endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
        log_type: 'PFSENSE'
        raw_log_field: body
        ingestion_labels:

service:
    pipelines:
        logs/source0__chronicle_w_labels-0:
            receivers:
                - udplog
            exporters:
                - chronicle/chronicle_w_labels

Configuration parameters

  • Replace the following placeholders:

    • Receiver configuration:

      • udplog: Use udplog for UDP syslog or tcplog for TCP syslog
      • 0.0.0.0: IP address to listen on (0.0.0.0 to listen on all interfaces)
      • 514: Port number to listen on (standard syslog port)

    • 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
      • YOUR_CUSTOMER_ID: Customer ID from the Get customer ID section
      • 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
      • log_type: Log type exactly as it appears in Chronicle (PFSENSE)

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"

Configure Syslog forwarding on pfSense

pfSense runs on FreeBSD and provides a web-based interface for all configuration tasks, including remote syslog forwarding.

  1. Sign in to the pfSense web interface.
  2. Go to Status > System Logs > Settings.
  3. Go to the Remote Logging Options section.
  4. Select Enable Remote Logging.
  5. Provide the following configuration details:
    • Source Address: Select Any (or a specific interface).
    • IP Protocol: Select IPv4.
    • Remote log servers: Enter BINDPLANE_IP:514 in the first available field. Replace BINDPLANE_IP with the IP address of the Bindplane agent host.
  6. In the Remote Syslog Contents section, select the log categories to forward:
    • System Events
    • Firewall Events
    • DNS Events (Resolver/unbound, Forwarder/dnsmasq)
    • DHCP Events (DHCP service)
    • PPP Events
    • Authentication Events (Portal Auth, RADIUS)
    • VPN Events (IPsec, OpenVPN, L2TP)
    • Gateway Events (Gateway monitor)
    • Routing Events (Routing daemon)
    • NTP Events
    • Packages (installed packages)
  7. Click Save.
  8. Verify syslog messages are being sent by checking the Bindplane agent logs.

UDM mapping table

Log Field UDM Mapping Logic
application principal.application The value is extracted from the log message using grok patterns. For syslog messages, the application name is typically found after the hostname and timestamp.
command principal.process.command_line Extracted from the description field when the log indicates a command execution.
description metadata.description The description field is mapped to the UDM metadata description, except for syslog-ng application logs where it's mapped to metadata.description. For DHCP events, the dhcp_type is prepended to the description.
dhcp_type metadata.product_event_type The DHCP message type (e.g., DHCPDISCOVER, DHCPOFFER) is extracted and mapped.
host intermediary.hostname OR intermediary.ip If the host value is a valid IP address, it's mapped to intermediary.ip. Otherwise, it's mapped to intermediary.hostname.
host principal.hostname, principal.asset.hostname When no principal IP is present, the host is treated as the principal hostname.
mac principal.mac, network.dhcp.chaddr The MAC address associated with a DHCP request is extracted and mapped.
src_ip principal.ip, principal.asset.ip Extracted from specific log formats using a grok pattern.
src_mac principal.mac Extracted from specific log formats using a grok pattern.
dst_mac target.mac Extracted from specific log formats using a grok pattern.
timestamp metadata.event_timestamp The timestamp is extracted from the log message and converted to a UDM timestamp format. The timezone information (tz) is appended to the timestamp before conversion if available.
timestamp_no_year metadata.event_timestamp If a timestamp without a year is present, it's parsed, and the current year is added during the parsing process.
user principal.user.userid The username associated with an event is extracted and mapped.
column1 security_result.rule_id Mapped from the first CSV column if the description is in CSV format.
column6 security_result.rule_type Mapped from the sixth CSV column if the description is in CSV format.
column7 security_result.action Mapped from the seventh CSV column if the description is in CSV format. Converted to "BLOCK" or "ALLOW".
column8 network.direction Mapped from the eighth CSV column if the description is in CSV format. Converted to "INBOUND" or "OUTBOUND".
column13 network.ip_protocol (if UDP or ICMP) Mapped from the thirteenth CSV column if the description is in CSV format and the protocol is UDP or ICMP. For TCP/UDP events, it's used to create an additional field with key "Id".
column16 principal.ip, principal.asset.ip (if IPv6 and column9 is 6) Mapped from the sixteenth CSV column if the description is in CSV format and column9 is 6. For TCP/UDP events, it's used for protocol identification if column9 is 4.
column17 target.ip, target.asset.ip (if IPv6 and not ip_failure) Mapped from the seventeenth CSV column if the description is in CSV format, column9 is 6, and the value is a valid IP. For TCP/UDP events, it's used for protocol identification.
column18 principal.port (if UDP) Mapped from the eighteenth CSV column if the description is in CSV format and the protocol is UDP. For TCP/UDP events, it's mapped to network.received_bytes.
column19 target.port (if UDP) Mapped from the nineteenth CSV column if the description is in CSV format and the protocol is UDP. For DHCP events, it's mapped to network.dhcp.yiaddr. For other events, it's mapped to principal.ip, principal.asset.ip.
column20 additional.fields (key: "data_length") (if UDP) Mapped from the twentieth CSV column if the description is in CSV format and the protocol is UDP. For other events, it's mapped to target.ip, target.asset.ip.
column21 principal.port (if TCP/UDP) Mapped from the twenty-first CSV column if the description is in CSV format and the protocol is TCP or UDP.
column22 target.port (if TCP/UDP) Mapped from the twenty-second CSV column if the description is in CSV format and the protocol is TCP or UDP.
column23 additional.fields (key: "data_length") (if TCP/UDP) Mapped from the twenty-third CSV column if the description is in CSV format and the protocol is TCP or UDP.
column24 additional.fields (key: "tcp_flags") (if TCP) Mapped from the twenty-fourth CSV column if the description is in CSV format and the protocol is TCP.
column25 additional.fields (key: "sequence_number") (if TCP/UDP) Mapped from the twenty-fifth CSV column if the description is in CSV format and the protocol is TCP or UDP.
column29 additional.fields (key: "tcp_options") (if TCP) Mapped from the twenty-ninth CSV column if the description is in CSV format and the protocol is TCP.
compression_algo additional.fields (key: "Compression Algorithm") Extracted from the description field and added as an additional field.
desc metadata.description Extracted from the message field and used as the description.
principal_ip principal.ip, principal.asset.ip Extracted from the description field and represents the principal IP address.
principal_username principal.user.userid Extracted from the description field and represents the principal username.
status security_result.detection_fields (key: "status") Extracted from the description field and added as a detection field within the security result.
target_host target.hostname, target.asset.hostname Extracted from the description field and represents the target hostname.
src_port principal.port Extracted from the description field and represents the source port. Determined based on various log fields and parser logic. Can be NETWORK_CONNECTION, NETWORK_DHCP, STATUS_UPDATE, or GENERIC_EVENT. Hardcoded to "PFSENSE". Hardcoded to "PFSENSE". Hardcoded to "PFSENSE". Set to "DHCP" for DHCP events. Set to "BOOTREQUEST" for DHCPDISCOVER and DHCPREQUEST, and "BOOTREPLY" for DHCPOFFER and DHCPACK. Set to "DISCOVER", "REQUEST", "OFFER", or "ACK" based on the dhcp_type field.

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