Micro Focus Security ArcSight

Connectors
SmartConnector for Cisco ASA Syslog

Configuration Guide

August 20, 2018

Configuration Guide

SmartConnector for Cisco ASA Syslog

August 20, 2018

Copyright © 2003 – 2018 Micro Focus and its affiliates and licensors.

Warranty

The only warranties for products and services of Micro Focus and its affiliates and licensors (“Micro
Focus”) are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services.
Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. Micro Focus shall not be
liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. The information contained herein
is subject to change without notice.

Restricted Rights Legend

Confidential computer software. Except as specifically indicated otherwise, a valid license from Micro
Focus is required for possession, use or copying. Consistent with FAR 12.211 and 12.212, Commercial
Computer Software, Computer Software Documentation, and Technical Data for Commercial Items are
licensed to the U.S. Government under vendor's standard commercial license.

Trademark Notices

Adobe™ is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Microsoft® and Windows® are U.S. registered
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. UNIX® is a registered trademark of The Open Group.

Revision History
Date Description
08/20/2018 Updated mapping for Device Facility.
05/16/2018 Added Cisco ASA Mappings
10/17/2017 Added encryption parameters to Global Parameters.
06/15/2017 Updated mappings for Destination Host Name, Destination User Name, Source Host Name, and Source User Name. Added
information about user name mappings. See the release notes for details about how your content may be affected.
02/15/2017 End of support for versions 6.2, 6.3, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 8.0, and 8.1 due to end of support by vendor. Removed 'PIX' from connector
name as PIX is no longer supported by vendor.
11/30/2016 Updated installation procedure for setting preferred IP address mode.
10/28/2016 Added support for ASA 9.6 events.
02/15/2016 Added support for ASA 9.5 events.
05/15/2015 Added new parameters for Syslog File.
02/16/2015 Added parameter for Syslog Daemon connector configuration. Added support for ASA 9.3 events.
08/15/2014 Added support for ASA 9.2 events.
05/15/2013 Added support for ASA 9.0 and 9.1 events.
08/15/2012 Added support for ASA 8.5 and 8.6 events.
Date Description
05/15/2012 Added IPv6 address event support; added new installation procedure.
SmartConnector for Cisco ASA Syslog

SmartConnector for Cisco ASA Syslog

This guide provides information for installing the SmartConnector for Cisco ASA Syslog and
configuring the device for syslog event collection. Cisco ASA versions 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 9.0, 9.1,
9.2, 9.3, 9.5, and 9.6 are supported.

Product Overview
The Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Series is a modular platform that provides firewall
security monitoring and intrusion protection services for the complete security solution. These
security appliances provide the next generation of security and VPN services.

If your appliance has Cisco IDS or Cisco IPS installed, those events are not
collected as syslog events. Use the SmartConnector for Cisco Secure IPS
SDEE for IPS event collection.

Cisco default syslog format is the only format supported by this

SmartConnector.

Configuration

Configuring the Cisco Device to Send Events

To configure the Cisco device to send syslog events to a syslog server:

1 Telnet to your Cisco machine.

2 Within the console, enter enable mode by entering hostname(config)# enable or

hostname(config)# en.

3 Enter configuration mode by entering hostname(config)# configure

terminal or hostname(config)# conf t.

4 Enter the following lines:

hostname(config)# logging on
hostname(config)# logging timestamp
hostname(config)# no logging standby
hostname(config)# no logging console
hostname(config)# no logging monitor
hostname(config)# no logging buffered debugging
hostname(config)# logging trap debug
hostname(config)# no logging history
hostname(config)# logging facility <syslog server logging

4 Micro Focus Security ArcSight Connectors

 Configuration Guide

directory>
hostname(config)# logging queue 512
hostname(config)# logging host inside <syslog server ip
address>

The logging facility can be one of the following:

16 local0
17 local1
18 local2
19 local3
20 local4
21 local5
22 local6
23 local7

For example, to log to syslog facility local6, create the following entry on the device:

logging facility 22

For the logging host, replace syslog server ip address with the syslog server's IP
address. You can use multiple logging host commands to specify additional servers.

For the logging trap severity level, the debug level is specified, which logs the following message
types:

0–emergencies–System unusable messages

1–alert–Take immediate action
2–critical–Critical condition
3–error–Error message
4–warning–Warning message
5–notification–Normal but significant condition
6–informational–Information message
7–debugging–Debug messages and log FTP commands and WWW URLs

Configure the Syslog SmartConnectors

The three ArcSight Syslog SmartConnectors are:

Syslog Daemon
Syslog Pipe
Syslog File

Micro Focus Security ArcSight Connectors 5

SmartConnector for Cisco ASA Syslog

The Syslog Daemon SmartConnector

The Syslog Daemon SmartConnector is a syslogd-compatible daemon designed to work in

operating systems that have no syslog daemon in their default configuration, such as Microsoft
Windows. The SmartConnector for Syslog Daemon implements a UDP receiver on port 514
(configurable) by default that can be used to receive syslog events. Use of the TCP protocol or a
different port can be configured manually.

If you are using the SmartConnector for Syslog Daemon, simply start the connector, either as a
service or as a process, to start receiving events; no further configuration is needed.

Messages longer than 1024 bytes may be split into multiple messages on
syslog daemon; no such restriction exists on syslog file or pipe.

The Syslog Pipe and File SmartConnectors

When a syslog daemon is already in place and configured to receive syslog messages, an extra line
in the syslog configuration file (rsyslog.conf) can be added to write the events to either a
file or a system pipe and the ArcSight SmartConnector can be configured to read the events from
it. In this scenario, the ArcSight SmartConnector runs on the same machine as the syslog daemon.

The Syslog Pipe SmartConnector is designed to work with an existing syslog daemon. This
SmartConnector is especially useful when storage is a factor. In this case, syslogd is configured to
write to a named pipe, and the Syslog Pipe SmartConnector reads from it to receive events.

The Syslog File SmartConnector is similar to the Pipe SmartConnector; however, this
SmartConnector monitors events written to a syslog file (such as messages.log) rather than
to a system pipe.

Configure the Syslog Pipe or File SmartConnector

This section provides information about how to set up your existing syslog infrastructure to send
events to the ArcSight Syslog Pipe or File SmartConnector.

The standard UNIX implementation of a syslog daemon reads the configuration parameters from
the /etc/rsyslog.conf file, which contains specific details about which events to write to files, write
to pipes, or send to another host. First, create a pipe or a file; then modify the /etc/rsyslog.conf file
to send events to it.

For syslog pipe:

1 Create a pipe by executing the following command:

mkfifo /var/tmp/syspipe

6 Micro Focus Security ArcSight Connectors

 Configuration Guide

2 Add the following line to your /etc/rsyslog.conf file:

*.debug /var/tmp/syspipe

or

*.debug |/var/tmp/syspipe

depending on your operating system.

3 After you have modified the file, restart the syslog daemon either by executing the scripts
/etc/init.d/syslogd stop and /etc/init.d/syslogd start, or by sending a `configuration restart`
signal.

On RedHat Linux, you would execute:

service syslog restart

On Solaris, you would execute:

kill -HUP `cat /var/run/syslog.pid´

This command forces the syslog daemon to reload the configuration and start writing to the
pipe you just created.

For syslog file:

Create a file or use the default for the file into which log messages are to be written.

After editing the /etc/rsyslog.conf file, be sure to restart the syslog daemon as described
above.

When you follow the SmartConnector Installation Wizard, you will be prompted for the absolute
path to the syslog file or pipe you created.

Install the SmartConnector

The following sections provide instructions for installing and configuring your selected
SmartConnector.

Syslog Installation
Install this SmartConnector (on the syslog server or servers identified in the Configuration
section) using the SmartConnector Installation Wizard appropriate for your operating system. The
wizard will guide you through the installation process. When prompted, select one of the following
Syslog connectors (see Configure the Syslog SmartConnectors in this guide for more information):

Micro Focus Security ArcSight Connectors 7

SmartConnector for Cisco ASA Syslog

Syslog Daemon
Syslog Pipe
Syslog File

Because all syslog SmartConnectors are sub-connectors of the main syslog SmartConnector, the
name of the specific syslog SmartConnector you are installing is not required during installation.

The syslog daemon connector by default listens on port 514 (configurable) for UDP syslog events;
you can configure the port number or use of the TCP protocol manually. The syslog pipe and
syslog file connectors read events from a system pipe or file, respectively. Select the one that best
fits your syslog infrastructure setup.

Prepare to Install Connector

Before you install any SmartConnectors, make sure that the ArcSight products with which the
connectors will communicate have already been installed correctly (such as ArcSight ESM or
ArcSight Logger).

For complete product information, read the Administrator's Guide as well as the Installation and
Configuration guide for your ArcSight product before installing a new SmartConnector. If you are
adding a connector to the ArcSight Management Center, see the ArcSight Management Center
Administrator's Guide for instructions, and start the installation procedure at "Set Global
Parameters (optional)" or "Select Connector and Add Parameter Information."

Before installing the SmartConnector, be sure the following are available:

 Local access to the machine where the SmartConnector is to be installed

 Administrator passwords

Install Core Software

Unless specified otherwise at the beginning of this guide, this SmartConnector can be installed on
all ArcSight supported platforms; for the complete list, see the SmartConnector Product and
Platform Support document, available from the Micro Focus SSO and Protect 724 sites.

1 Download the SmartConnector executable for your operating system from the Micro Focus
SSO site.

2 Start the SmartConnector installation and configuration wizard by running the executable.

When installing a syslog daemon SmartConnector in a UNIX environment,

run the executable as 'root' user.

Follow the wizard through the following folder selection tasks and installation of the core
connector software:

8 Micro Focus Security ArcSight Connectors

 Configuration Guide

Introduction
Choose Install Folder
Choose Shortcut Folder
Pre-Installation Summary
Installing...

3 When the installation of SmartConnector core component software is finished, the following
window is displayed:

Set Global Parameters (optional)

If you choose to perform any of the operations shown in the following table, do so before adding
your connector. You can set the following parameters:

Parameter Setting
FIPS mode Select 'Enabled' to enable FIPS compliant mode. To enable FIPS Suite B Mode, see the
SmartConnector User Guide under "Modifying Connector Parameters" for instructions. Initially, this
value is set to 'Disabled'.
Remote Management Select 'Enabled' to enable remote management from ArcSight Management Center. When queried
by the remote management device, the values you specify here for enabling remote management
and the port number will be used. Initially, this value is set to 'Disabled'.
Remote Management The remote management device will listen to the port specified in this field. The default port
Listener Port number is 9001.
Preferred IP Version When both IPv4 and IPv6 IP addresses are available for the local host (the machine on which the
connector is installed), you can choose which version is preferred. Otherwise, you will see only one
selection. The initial setting is IPv4.

Micro Focus Security ArcSight Connectors 9

SmartConnector for Cisco ASA Syslog

The following parameters should be configured only if you are using Micro Focus SecureData
solutions to provide encryption. See the Micro Focus SecureData Architecture Guide for more
information.

Parameter Setting
Format Preserving Data leaving the connector machine to a specified destination can be encrypted by selecting ‘Enabled’ to
Encryption encrypt the fields identified in ‘Event Fields to Encrypt' before forwarding events. If encryption is enabled,
it cannot be disabled. Changing any of the encryption parameters again will require a fresh installation of
the connector.
Format Preserving Enter the URL where the Micro Focus SecureData Server is installed.
Policy URL
Proxy Server (https) Enter the proxy host for https connection if any proxy is enabled for this machine.
Proxy Port Enter the proxy port for https connection if any proxy is enabled for this machine.
Format Preserving The Micro Focus SecureData client software allows client applications to protect and access data based
Identity on key names. This key name is referred to as the identity. Enter the user identity configured for Micro
Focus SecureData.
Format Preserving Enter the secret configured for Micro Focus SecureData to use for encryption.
Secret
Event Fields to Encrypt Recommended fields for encryption are listed; delete any fields you do not want encrypted and add any
string or numeric fields you want encrypted. Encrypting more fields can affect performance, with 20 fields
being the maximum recommended. Also, because encryption changes the value, rules or categorization
could also be affected. Once encryption is enabled, the list of event fields cannot be edited.

After making your selections, click Next. A summary screen is displayed. Review the summary of
your selections and click Next. Click Continue to return to proceed with "Add a Connector" window.
Continue the installation procedure with "Select Connector and Add Parameter Information."

Select Connector and Add Parameter Information

1 Select Add a Connector and click Next. If applicable, you can enable FIPS mode and enable
remote management later in the wizard after SmartConnector configuration.

2 Select Syslog Daemon, Pipe, or File and click Next.

3 Enter the required SmartConnector parameters to configure the SmartConnector, then click
Next.

Syslog Network port The SmartConnector for Syslog Daemon listens for syslog events from this port.
Daemon
Parameters
IP Address The SmartConnector for Syslog Daemon listens for syslog events only from this IP address (accept
the default (ALL) to bind to all available IP addresses).
Protocol The SmartConnector for Syslog Daemon uses the selected protocol (UDP or Raw TCP) to receive
incoming messages.
Forwarder Change this parameter to 'true' only if the events being processed are coming from another
SmartConnector sending to a CEF Syslog destination, and that destination also has CEF forwarder
mode enabled. That allows attributes of the original connector to be retained in the original agent
fields.
Syslog Pipe Pipe Absolute path to the pipe, or accept the default: /var/tmp/syspipe
Parameter Absolute
Path Name

10 Micro Focus Security ArcSight Connectors

 Configuration Guide

Syslog File File Absolute Enter the full path name for the file from which this connector will read events or accept the
Parameters Path Name default: \var\adm\messages (Solaris) or \var\log\messages (Linux).
A wildcard pattern can be used in the file name; however, in realtime mode, rotation can occur only
if the file is over-written or removed from the folder. Realtime processing mode assumes following
external rotation.
For date format log rotation, the device writes to 'filename.timestamp.log' on a daily basis. At a
specified time, the device creates a new daily log and begins to write to it. The connector detects
the new log and terminates the reader thread to the previous log after processing is complete. The
connector then creates a new reader thread to the new 'filename.timestamp.log' and begins
processing that file. To enable this log rotation, use a date format in the file name as shown in the
following example:
filename'yyyy-MM-dd'.log;
For index log rotation, the device writes to indexed files - 'filename.log.001', 'filename.log.002',
'filename.log.003', and so on. At startup, the connector processes the log with highest index. When
the device creates a log with a greater index, the connector terminates the reader thread to the
previous log after processing completes, creates a thread to the new log, and begins processing
that log. To enable this log rotation, use an index format, as shown in the following example:
filename'%d,1,99,true'.log;
Specifying 'true' indicates that it is allowed for the index to be skipped; for example, if 5 appears
before 4, processing proceeds with 5 and will not read 4, even if 4 appears later. Use of 'true' is
optional.
Reading Specify whether file is to be read in batch or realtime mode. For batch mode, all files are read from
Events Real the beginning. The 'Action Upon Reaching EOF' and 'File Extension if Rename Action' parameters
Time or apply for batch mode only.
Batch
Action Upon For batch mode, specify 'None', 'Rename', or 'Delete' as the action to be performed to the file when
Reaching the connector has finished reading and reaches end of file (EOF). For realtime mode, leave the
EOF default value of 'None' for this parameter.
File For batch mode, specify the extension to be added to the file name if the action upon EOF is
Extension If 'Rename' or accept the default value of '.processed'.
Rename
Action

Select a Destination
1 The next window asks for the destination type; select a destination and click Next. For
information about the destinations listed, see the ArcSight SmartConnector User Guide.

2 Enter values for the destination. For the ArcSight Manager destination, the values you enter
for User and Password should be the same ArcSight user name and password you created
during the ArcSight Manager installation. Click Next.

3 Enter a name for the SmartConnector and provide other information identifying the
connector's use in your environment. Click Next. The connector starts the registration
process.

4 If you have selected ArcSight Manager as the destination, the certificate import window for
the ArcSight Manager is displayed. Select Import the certificate to the connector from
destination and click Next. (If you select Do not import the certificate to connector from
destination, the connector installation will end.) The certificate is imported and the Add
connector Summary window is displayed.

Micro Focus Security ArcSight Connectors 11

SmartConnector for Cisco ASA Syslog

Complete Installation and Configuration

1 Review the Add Connector Summary and click Next. If the summary is incorrect, click
Previous to make changes.

2 The wizard now prompts you to choose whether you want to run the SmartConnector as a
stand-alone process or as a service. If you choose to run the connector as a stand-alone
process, select Leave as a standalone application, click Next, and continue with step 5.

3 If you chose to run the connector as a service, with Install as a service selected, click Next. The
wizard prompts you to define service parameters. Enter values for Service Internal Name and
Service Display Name and select Yes or No for Start the service automatically. The Install
Service Summary window is displayed when you click Next.

4 Click Next on the summary window.

5 To complete the installation, choose Exit and Click Next.

For instructions about upgrading the connector or modifying parameters, see the SmartConnector
User Guide.

Run the SmartConnector

SmartConnectors can be installed and run in stand-alone mode, on Windows platforms as a
Windows service, or on UNIX platforms as a UNIX daemon, depending upon the platform
supported. On Windows platforms, SmartConnectors also can be run using shortcuts and optional
Start menu entries.

If the connector is installed in stand-alone mode, it must be started manually and is not
automatically active when a host is restarted. If installed as a service or daemon, the connector
runs automatically when the host is restarted. For information about connectors running as
services or daemons, see the ArcSight SmartConnector User Guide.

To run all SmartConnectors installed in stand-alone mode on a particular host, open a command
window, go to $ARCSIGHT_HOME\current\bin and run: arcsight connectors

To view the SmartConnector log, read the file

$ARCSIGHT_HOME\current\logs\agent.log; to stop all SmartConnectors, enter
Ctrl+C in the command window.

Device Event Mapping to ArcSight Fields

Updates to mappings include mapping the last user data to the
additionaldata.externalAuthenticationUser. The idfw_user data is mapped to the
destinationUserName or sourceUserName field. (The port and host name determine whether the
username is source or destination.) These changes could affect your content.

12 Micro Focus Security ArcSight Connectors

 Configuration Guide

The following section lists the mappings of ArcSight data fields to the device's specific event
definitions. See the ArcSight Console User's Guide for more information about the ArcSight data
fields.

Cisco ASA Mappings to ArcSight Fields

ArcSight ESM Field Device-Specific Field
Agent (Connector) Severity Very High = 0, 1; High = 2, 3; Medium = 4, 5; Low = 6,7
Destination Host Name One of (PixMessageId, '713228', IP)
Destination User Name One of (PixMessageId, '713228', User)
Device Custom IPv6 Address 1 Device IPv6 Address
Device Custom IPv6 Address 2 Source IPv6 Address
Device Custom IPv6 Address 3 Destination IPv6 Address
Device Custom Number 1 ICMP Type
Device Custom Number 2 ICMP Code
Device Custom Number 3 DurationInSeconds
Device Custom String 1 ACL
Device Custom String 2 Unit
Device Custom String 3 TCP Flags
Device Custom String 4 Order
Device Custom String 5 Connection Type
Device Custom String 6 Duration
Device Event Category MessageClass
Device Event Class Id PixMessageId
Device Facility _SYSLOG_FACILITY
Device Host Name One of (DeviceHostName, _SYSLOG_SENDER)
Device Product Product
Device Receipt Time PixDate
Device Severity PixSeverity (7 - 0)
Device Vendor 'CISCO'
Message Reason, Message
Name PixMessage
Source Host Name One of (PixMessageId, '713228', IP)
Source User Name One of (PixMessageId, '713228', User)
Transport Protocol TCP/UDP/ICMP/IGMP/ARP/PPTP/PPP/PPPoE/TACACS+/ESMTP

Troubleshooting
What is the expected behavior from the connector for a typical teardown message from ASA?

For teardown messages, because the direction of the flow is not known from the syslog message,
we do not know for certain what is the source and what is the destination. Based on the format of
the syslog message (shown below) we map the for/from part to source and the to part to
destination.

Micro Focus Security ArcSight Connectors 13

SmartConnector for Cisco ASA Syslog

Apr 20 17:54:51 151.174.6.33 Apr 20 2010 13:54:51: %ASA-6-

302014: Teardown TCP connection 227777586 for
outside:98.136.152.54/80 to inside:172.27.191.13/2710
duration 0:00:00 bytes 4699 TCP FINs

14 Micro Focus Security ArcSight Connectors