Using CDB lists

Wazuh is able to check if a field extracted during the decoding phase is in a CDB list (constant database). The main use case of this feature is to create a white/black list of users, file hashes, IPs or domain names.

Creating a CDB list

Creating the list file

The list file is a plain text file where each line has the following format:

key1:value1
key2:value2

Each key must be unique, followed by a colon : and it can have an optional value. The value can be identical to others but the key must remain unique.

With a key we can determine the presence or absence of a field in a given list. By adding a value we can use it as criteria in rules. For example, if we have account names (key) with a department name (value) associated, it would be possible to create an alert that triggers when a user not from the finance department logs into the finance server.

For IP addresses the dot notation is used for subnet matches:

key

CIDR

Possible matches

192.168.:

192.168.0.0/16

192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255

172.16.19.:

172.16.19.0/24

172.16.19.0 - 172.16.19.255

10.1.1.1:

10.1.1.1/32

10.1.1.1

Example of IP address list file:

192.168.: Matches 192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255
172.16.19.: Matches 172.16.19.0 - 172.16.19.255
10.1.1.1: Matches 10.1.1.1

We recommend to store the lists on /var/ossec/etc/lists.

New in version 3.11.0.

Since Wazuh v3.11.0, CDB lists are built and loaded automatically when the analysis engine is started. Therefore, when adding or modifying CDB lists, it is no longer needed to run ossec-makelists, just restart the manager.

Adding the list to ossec.conf

Each list must be defined in the ossec.conf file using the following syntax:

<ossec_config>
  <ruleset>
    <list>etc/lists/list-IP</list>

Warning

The <list> setting uses a relative path to the Wazuh installation folder (/var/ossec/) so make sure to indicate the directory accordingly.

Restart Wazuh to apply the changes:

  1. For Systemd:

# systemctl restart wazuh-manager
  1. For SysV Init:

# service wazuh-manager restart

Using the CDB list in the rules

A rule would use the following syntax to look up a key within a CDB list.

Positive key match

This example is a search for the key stored in the field attribute and will match if it is present in the database:

<list field="user" lookup="match_key">etc/lists/list-user</list>

The lookup="match_key" is the default and can be omitted as in this example:

<list field="user">etc/lists/list-user</list>

In case the field is an IP address, you must use address_match_key:

<list field="srcip" lookup="address_match_key">etc/lists/list-IP</list>

Negative key match

This example is a search for the key stored in the field attribute and will match if it is not present in the database:

<list field="user" lookup="not_match_key">etc/lists/list-user</list>

In case the field is an IP address, you must use not_address_match_key:

<list field="srcip" lookup="not_address_match_key">etc/lists/list-IP</list>

Key and value match

This example is a search for the key stored in the field attribute, and on a positive match the returned value of the key will be processed using the regex in the check_value attribute:

<list field="user" lookup="match_key_value" check_value="^block">etc/lists/list-user</list>

In case the field is an IP address, you must use not_address_match_key:

<list field="srcip" lookup="address_match_key_value" check_value="^reject">etc/lists/list-IP</list>

CDB lists examples

<rule id="110700" level="10">
  <if_group>json</if_group>
  <list field="ip" lookup="address_match_key">etc/lists/List-one</list>
  <description>IP blacklisted in LIST ONE</description>
  <group>list1,</group>
</rule>


<rule id="110701" level="10">
  <if_group>json</if_group>
  <list field="ip" lookup="address_match_key">etc/lists/List-two</list>
  <description>IP blacklisted in LIST TWO</description>
  <group>list2,</group>
</rule>


<rule id="110710" level="10">
  <if_sid>110700</if_sid>
  <list field="ip" lookup="address_match_key">etc/lists/List-two</list>
  <description>IP blacklisted in LIST ONE and LIST TWO</description>
  <group>list1,list2,</group>
</rule>

In this example, the described rules check if an IP is in the List-one, in the List-two or in both.