Applies to Product:

USM Appliance™

AlienVault OSSIM®

AlienVault HIDS expands from the open source project, OSSEC, by providing additional rules that are essential to identifying HIDS issues. The table below lists all the AlienVault-specific rules that USM Appliance provides out of the box.

AlienVault HIDS Rules

Rule File Name	Rules Purpose	Enabled by Default	Rule File Dependency	Windows Event ID Matched
alienvault-apache_rules.xml	Rules for Apache HTTP Server	No	apache_rules.xml	N/A
alienvault-directory-service_rules.xml	Detect changes of directory service objects in Active Directory on Windows	Yes	msauth_rules.xml	5136, 5137, 5138, 5139, 5141
alienvault-domain_rules.xml	Detect changes in the Domain Admins group on Windows	Yes	msauth_rules.xml	SID: S-1-5-21 domain 512, 518, and 519
alienvault-linux-USB_rules.xml	Detect new USB devices on Linux	No	None	N/A
alienvault-linux-pam_rules.xml	Detect SSHD authentication on Linux	No	None	N/A
alienvault-mssql_rules.xml	Rules for Microsoft SQL Server	No	msauth_rules.xml	14151, 18265, 33205
alienvault-network-login-failure_rules.xml	Detect failed logon attempts on Windows	No	msauth_rules.xml	46251 This rule is more granular than the default one in msauth_rules.xml, because it matches the different failure reasons reported by event 4625.
alienvault-sam-express_rules.xml	Rules for SAM (SafeNet Authentication Manager) Express	No	msauth_rules.xml	N/A
alienvault-web-access_rules.xml	Rules to supplement the default web access rules	No	web_rules.xml	N/A
alienvault-windows-ADFS-servers_rules.xml	Rules for Active Directory Federation Services on Windows	No	msauth_rules.xml	1102
alienvault-windows-DHCP_rules.xml	Detect DHCP lease actions on Windows	No	ms_dhcp_rules.xml	DHCP server event 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 30, 32
alienvault-windows-FIM_rules.xml	Detect file changes on Windows	Yes	msauth_rules.xml	4659
alienvault-windows-USB_rules.xml	Detect new USB devices on Windows	Yes	ossec_rules.xml	N/A
alienvault-windows-access_rules.xml	Detect Object Access issues on Windows	No	msauth_rules.xml	4656, 4662, 4673, 4674
alienvault-windows-account-security_rules.xml	Detect account activities on Windows	No	msauth_rules.xml	4720, 4722, 4725, 4726, 4738, 4781
alienvault-windows-applocker_rules.xml	Detect AppLocker activities on Windows	No	msauth_rules.xml	8002, 8003, 8004, 8005, 8006, 8007
alienvault-windows-capacity_rules.xml	Detect capacity issues on Windows	No	msauth_rules.xml	2013
alienvault-windows-defender_rules.xml	Rules for Windows Defender	No	msauth_rules.xml, ms-se_rules.xml	1000, 1001, 1116, 1117, 5007
alienvault-windows-filtering_rules.xml	Rules for Windows Filtering Platform (WFP)	No	msauth_rules.xml	5152
alienvault-windows-group-changes_rules.xml	Detect Security group changes in Active Directory on Windows	No	msauth_rules.xml	4735, 4737, 4755
alienvault-windows-logon-logoff_rules.xml	Detect machine log on/off attempts on Windows	Yes	msauth_rules.xml	N/A
alienvault-windows-password-change-rules.xml	Detect password change attempts on Windows	No	msauth_rules.xml	4723, 4724
alienvault-windows-powershell_rules.xml	Rules for Windows PowerShell commands	No	msauth_rules.xml	800
alienvault-windows-process_rules.xml	Detect new processes on Windows	No	msauth_rules.xml	4688, 4689
alienvault-windows-service-control-manager_rules.xml	Rules for Service Control Manager (Windows)	No	msauth_rules.xml	7036, 7045
alienvault-windows-shutdown_rules.xml	Detect power off attempts on Windows	No	msauth_rules.xml	1074
alienvault-windows-workstation-logon-logoff_rules.xml	Detect user logon/off attempts on Windows	Yes	msauth_rules.xml	528, 540, 672, 673, 4624, 4672, 4768, 4769, 4771
local_rules.xml	A file to hold user-defined HIDS rules. it contains a sample rule initially.	Yes	None by default	N/A

AlienVault delivers new HIDS rules or fixes to existing rules through the bi-weekly The Threat Intelligence Updates. For a complete list of rules enabled by default, go to Environment > Detection > HIDS > Config > Rules. USM Appliance displays the enabled rules on the left and disabled rules on the right.

You can enable more rules based on your business needs. See Enabling / Disabling AlienVault HIDS Rules.

Additionally, you can edit existing rules or create your own so that they work better in your environment. See Editing / Creating Custom Rules for AlienVault HIDS.

Enabling / Disabling AlienVault HIDS Rules

Before deciding whether to enable or disable an AlienVault HIDS rule, you will want to understand what the rule does first. USM Appliance allows you to view the entire rule file from the web UI.

Note: AlienVault HIDS rules are read-only. You cannot change them.

To view a HIDS rule file

1. Go to Environment > Detection > HIDS > Edit Rules.

   

2. Select the rule file from the drop-down list.
3. Click the plus (+) sign to extend the nodes, or click a node to display the details in the right column.

4. Alternatively, click the Rule Editor tab to see the rule file in XML format.

   

Some rules depend on other rules to find their matching events first. Therefore, before you enable a rule, make sure that the dependent rule (as shown in the Rule File Dependency column in the AlienVault HIDS Rules table) has been enabled. For example, the alienvault-windows-defender_rules.xml file depends on both msauth_rules.xml and ms-se_rules.xml files. While msauth_rules.xml is enabled by default, ms-se_rules.xml is not. Therefore, you must enable ms-se_rules.xml first, and then alienvault-windows-defender_rules.xml.

To enable or disable an AlienVault HIDS rule

1. Go to Environment > Detection > HIDS > Config > Rules.

2. To enable a rule, type the name of the rule in the search box.

   The number of available rules reduces as you type and USM Appliance finds the match.

3. To locate the rule, either drag the file to the left column or click the plus (+) sign next to the rule.
4. To disable a rule, locate the file in the left column. Either drag the file to the right column or click the minus (-) sign next to the rule.
5. Click Save.

6. You must restart the HIDS Service for the changes to take effect:

   • On the same page, click the HIDS Control tab, and then click Restart on the resulting page.

Editing / Creating Custom Rules for AlienVault HIDS

You are not allowed to change any of the AlienVault HIDS rules, but you can create your own rules to detect HIDS issues in your environment. AlienVault recommends that you put your rules in the local_rules.xml file, which is enabled by default and loaded at last so that it is not overwritten by the other rule files. You can add or remove rules from local_rules.xml in the web UI.

To create or modify a custom HIDS rule

1. Go to Environment > Detection > HIDS > Edit Rules.
2. Select local_rules.xml from the drop-down list.

3. Click group name="local,syslog," to display the details in the right column.

   A sample rule with id 150000 displays.

   

4. Click the clone rule icon () to clone the sample rule.

   Another rule with rule id 150000 displays.

5. Click Save.

   Note: Save your new rule in order to make changes to it.

6. Click the edit rule icon () next to the newly created rule.

   The details of the rule display.

7. Change the id so that it is unique.

   Important: A valid custom rule ID for AlienVault HIDS is between 190,000 and 199,999. AlienVault reserves other ranges for its internal usage.

8. Change the other attributes as needed. Use the add icon () to add an attribute or a node. Use the delete icon () to remove an attribute or a node.

   In the example below, we have changed the rule id to 150001 and srcip to 2.2.2.2. We have updated the description as well.

   

9. If you need to add an attribute for any of the nodes, click the show icon () to display the attributes for that node.

10. Alternatively, if you prefer to use the XML format, click the Rule Editor tab and enter your rule directly.

    

11. Click Save after you have made all the changes.

12. You must restart the HIDS Service for the changes to take effect:

    • On the same page, click the HIDS Control tab, and then click Restart on the resulting page.

The procedure above shows how to add a new rule to the existing group. If you want to add a new group instead, use the Rule Editor and enter the XML codes directly. For example:

Important: Do not add a group without a rule in it. AlienVault HIDS will not restart with an empty group in local_rules.xml.

AlienVault OSSIM Limitations: Both AlienVault OSSIM and the USM Appliance HIDS decoders are fully featured, with all of their information coming from the Plugin Feed Updates that USM Appliance and AlienVault OSSIM provide. However, AlienVault OSSIM lacks the depth of NIDS information that is provided to USM Appliance through the Threat Intelligence Updates.