Collect Apache Tomcat logs

Parser Version: 3.0

Supported in:

Google SecOps SIEM

This document explains how to ingest Apache Tomcat logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

Apache Tomcat is a web application server that generates JSON access logs for HTTP requests, authentication events, and server activity. The parser extracts fields from JSON-formatted and 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
• Bindplane agent installed on the Tomcat server (to read local log files)
• If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
• Administrative access to the Tomcat server

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 on the Tomcat server to collect log files

Install the Bindplane agent on the Tomcat server itself, since it needs to read local log files.

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.

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 Tomcat logs 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:
    filelog/tomcat:
      include:
        - /path/to/tomcat/logs/access-log.*.json
      start_at: beginning
  
  exporters:
    chronicle/tomcat:
      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: TOMCAT
      raw_log_field: body
  
  service:
    pipelines:
      logs/tomcat_to_chronicle:
        receivers:
          - filelog/tomcat
        exporters:
          - chronicle/tomcat
  

Configuration parameters

Replace the following placeholders:

• Receiver configuration:

  • include: Path to Tomcat JSON access log files. Adjust to match your Tomcat log directory and file pattern.
  • start_at: Set to beginning to read existing logs, or end to read only new entries.

• 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/tomcat:
      compression: gzip
      creds_file_path: '/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json'
      customer_id: '<customer_id>'
      endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
      log_type: TOMCAT
      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:

     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 JSON access logs in Tomcat

1. Open the Tomcat configuration file at $CATALINA_BASE/conf/server.xml.

2. Locate the <Host> tag and add the following inside:

   <Valve className="org.apache.catalina.valves.JsonAccessLogValve"
          directory="logs"
          prefix="access-log"
          suffix=".json"
          rotatable="true"
          maxDays="7"/>
   

3. Restart Tomcat to apply changes:

   cd /path/to/tomcat
   bin/catalina.sh stop
   bin/catalina.sh start
   

4. A new JSON log file will appear daily (for example, logs/access-log.2025-07-02.json).

UDM mapping table

Log Field	UDM Mapping	Logic
@timestamp	metadata.event_timestamp	The value of @timestamp from the raw log is directly mapped to this UDM field. It represents the time the event occurred.
agent.ephemeral_id	additional.fields[ephemeral_id].value.string_value	The ephemeral ID from the agent is added as a key-value pair in the additional fields.
agent.hostname	observer.hostname	The agent's hostname is used as the observer hostname.
agent.id	observer.asset_id	The agent ID is combined with the agent type to create the observer asset ID (e.g., filebeat: <agent_id>).
agent.type	observer.application	The agent type is used as the observer application.
agent.version	observer.platform_version	The agent version is used as the observer platform version.
host.hostname	principal.hostname	The host's hostname is used as the principal hostname.
host.id	principal.asset.asset_id	The host ID is prepended with Host Id: to create the principal asset ID.
host.ip	principal.ip, observer.ip	The host's IP address is used for both the principal and observer IP. If multiple IPs are present, they are merged into an array.
host.mac	principal.mac	The host's MAC address is used as the principal MAC address. If multiple MACs are present, they are merged into an array.
host.os.family	principal.platform	If the host OS family is rhel or redhat, the principal platform is set to LINUX.
host.os.kernel	principal.platform_patch_level	The host OS kernel version is used as the principal platform patch level.
host.os.name	additional.fields[os_name].value.string_value	The host OS name is added as a key-value pair in the additional fields.
host.os.version	principal.platform_version	The host OS version is used as the principal platform version.
log.file.path	principal.process.file.full_path	The log path is used as the principal process file's full path.
log_level	security_result.severity, security_result.severity_details, security_result.action	The log level is used to determine the security result severity, severity details, and action. DEBUG, INFO, and AUDIT map to INFORMATIONAL severity and ALLOW action. ERROR maps to ERROR severity and BLOCK action. WARNING and WARN map to MEDIUM severity and BLOCK action. The raw log_level value is also mapped to severity_details.
logstash.irm_environment	additional.fields[irm_environment].value.string_value	The Iron Mountain environment from Logstash is added as a key-value pair in the additional fields.
logstash.irm_region	additional.fields[irm_region].value.string_value	The Iron Mountain region from Logstash is added as a key-value pair in the additional fields.
logstash.irm_site	additional.fields[irm_site].value.string_value	The Iron Mountain site from Logstash is added as a key-value pair in the additional fields.
logstash.process.host	intermediary.hostname	The Logstash processing host is used as the intermediary hostname.
logstash.process.timestamp	metadata.collected_timestamp	The Logstash processing timestamp is used as the collected timestamp.
logstash.xyz_environment	additional.fields[xyz_environment].value.string_value	The xyz environment from Logstash is added as a key-value pair in the additional fields.
logstash.xyz_region	additional.fields[xyz_region].value.string_value	The xyz region from Logstash is added as a key-value pair in the additional fields.
logstash.xyz_site	additional.fields[xyz_site].value.string_value	The xyz site from Logstash is added as a key-value pair in the additional fields.
message	metadata.description	The message field is parsed as JSON and its event_message field is used as the metadata description. The intermediary application is hardcoded to logstash. The metadata event type is hardcoded to USER_UNCATEGORIZED. The metadata log type is set to TOMCAT from the raw log's batch.type or batch.log_type. The metadata product name is hardcoded to Tomcat. The metadata vendor name is hardcoded to Tomcat.
user	principal.user.userid	The user field from the raw log is used as the principal user ID.
product_event	metadata.product_event_type	Mapped from changelog
summary	security_result.summary	Mapped from changelog
query	additional.fields	Mapped from changelog

Change Log

View the Change Log for this parser

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