Contents
Suricata
SURICATA IDS/IPS is an open source IDS that monitors communications on the network and detects suspicious traffic.
The basic mechanism is signature-based, so it can detect predefined unauthorized communications. Suricata is also characterized by its ability to provide protection as well as detection.
1.advance preparation
①Activate the EPEL Repository
|
1 |
# dnf -y install epel-release |
②System updates
|
1 |
# dnf update -y |
2.Suricata Installation and Configuration
①Suricata Install
|
1 2 3 4 5 |
# dnf -y install suricata Check Version # suricata -V This is Suricata version 7.0.10 RELEASE |
②Determine interface and IP address where Suricata will inspect network packets
|
1 2 3 |
# ip --brief add lo UNKNOWN 127.0.0.1/8 ::1/128 ens160 UP 192.168.11.83/24 fexx::xxc:29xx:fexx:69xx/64 |
③Edit configuration file
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
# vi /etc/suricata/suricata.yaml # Line 15 : In the "vars" section, define the network HOME_NET: "[192.168.11.0/24]" EXTRNAL_NET: "!$HOME_NET" # Line 621 : Set interface name in "af-packet" section af-packet: - interface: ens160 |
|
1 2 3 4 5 |
# vi /etc/sysconfig/suricata # Line 8 :Specify interface # Add options to be passed to the daemon OPTIONS="-i ens160 --user suricata " |
④Suricata rules update
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |
# suricata-update ---------------------------------------------- 18/7/2025 -- 10:15:22 - <Info> -- Writing rules to /var/lib/suricata/rules/suricata.rules: total: 59958; enabled: 44360; added: 59958; removed 0; modified: 0 18/7/2025 -- 10:15:23 - <Info> -- Writing /var/lib/suricata/rules/classification.config 18/7/2025 -- 10:15:23 - <Info> -- Testing with suricata -T. 18/7/2025 -- 10:15:51 - <Info> -- Done. |
⑤Activate Suricata
|
1 2 |
# systemctl enable --now suricata Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multiuser.target.wants/suricata.service → /usr/lib/systemd/system/suricata.service. |
⑥Confirm Suricata startup
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 |
# systemctl status suricata ● suricata.service - Suricata Intrusion Detection Service Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/suricata.service; enabled; preset: disabled) Active: active (running) since Fri 2025-07-18 10:16:20 JST; 33s ago Docs: man:suricata(1) Process: 5479 ExecStartPre=/bin/rm -f /var/run/suricata.pid (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS) Main PID: 5480 (Suricata-Main) Tasks: 8 (limit: 10854) Memory: 420.2M CPU: 27.952s CGroup: /system.slice/suricata.service mq5480 /sbin/suricata -c /etc/suricata/suricata.yaml --pidfile /var/run/suricata.pid -i ens160 --user suricata Jul 18 10:16:20 Lepard systemd[1]: Starting Suricata Intrusion Detection Service... Jul 18 10:16:20 Lepard systemd[1]: Started Suricata Intrusion Detection Service. Jul 18 10:16:20 Lepard suricata[5480]: i: suricata: This is Suricata version 7.0.10 RELEASE running in SYSTEM mode Jul 18 10:16:49 Lepard suricata[5480]: W: af-packet: ens160: AF_PACKET tpacket-v3 is recommended for non-inline operation Jul 18 10:16:49 Lepard suricata[5480]: i: threads: Threads created -> W: 2 FM: 1 FR: 1 Engine started. |
Check Log
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 |
# tail /var/log/suricata/suricata.log [5480 - Suricata-Main] 2025-07-18 10:16:20 Info: logopenfile: fast output device (regular) initialized: fast.log [5480 - Suricata-Main] 2025-07-18 10:16:20 Info: logopenfile: eve-log output device (regular) initialized: eve.json [5480 - Suricata-Main] 2025-07-18 10:16:20 Info: logopenfile: stats output device (regular) initialized: stats.log [5480 - Suricata-Main] 2025-07-18 10:16:35 Info: detect: 1 rule files processed. 44360 rules successfully loaded, 0 rules failed, 0 [5480 - Suricata-Main] 2025-07-18 10:16:35 Info: threshold-config: Threshold config parsed: 0 rule(s) found [5480 - Suricata-Main] 2025-07-18 10:16:35 Info: detect: 44363 signatures processed. 951 are IP-only rules, 4377 are inspecting packet payload, 38813 inspect application layer, 109 are decoder event only [5480 - Suricata-Main] 2025-07-18 10:16:49 Warning: af-packet: ens160: AF_PACKET tpacket-v3 is recommended for non-inline operation [5480 - Suricata-Main] 2025-07-18 10:16:49 Info: runmodes: ens160: creating 2 threads [5480 - Suricata-Main] 2025-07-18 10:16:49 Info: unix-manager: unix socket '/var/run/suricata/suricata-command.socket' [5480 - Suricata-Main] 2025-07-18 10:16:49 Notice: threads: Threads created -> W: 2 FM: 1 FR: 1 Engine started. |
Check the stats.log file for statistics (updated every 8 seconds by default)
|
1 |
# tail -f /var/log/suricata/stats.log |
A more advanced output, EVE JSON, can be generated with the following command
|
1 |
# tail -f /var/log/suricata/eve.json |
3.Suricata Testing
①Run ping test with curl utility
|
1 2 |
# curl http://testmynids.org/uid/index.html uid=0(root) gid=0(root) groups=0(root) |
②Check the alert log to see if it has been logged
|
1 2 |
# cat /var/log/suricata/fast.log 07/18/2025-10:18:58.937423 [**] [1:2100498:7] GPL ATTACK_RESPONSE id check returned root [**] [Classification: Potentially Bad Traffic] [Priority: 2] {TCP} 143.204.80.116:80 -> 192.168.11.83:37254 |
4.Setting Suricata Rules
①Display of rule sets packaged in Suricata
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 |
# ls -al /var/lib/suricata/rules/ total 37156 drwxr-s--- 2 root suricata 4096 Jul 18 10:15 . drwxrws--- 4 suricata suricata 4096 Jul 18 10:15 .. -rw-r--r-- 1 root suricata 3228 Jul 18 10:15 classification.config -rw-r--r-- 1 root suricata 38032499 Jul 18 10:15 suricata.rules |
②Index list of sources providing rule sets
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 |
# suricata-update list-sources Name: abuse.ch/feodotracker Vendor: Abuse.ch Summary: Abuse.ch Feodo Tracker Botnet C2 IP ruleset License: CC0-1.0 Name: abuse.ch/sslbl-blacklist Vendor: Abuse.ch Summary: Abuse.ch SSL Blacklist License: CC0-1.0 Replaces: sslbl/ssl-fp-blacklist Name: abuse.ch/sslbl-c2 Vendor: Abuse.ch Summary: Abuse.ch Suricata Botnet C2 IP Ruleset License: CC0-1.0 Name: abuse.ch/sslbl-ja3 Vendor: Abuse.ch Summary: Abuse.ch Suricata JA3 Fingerprint Ruleset License: CC0-1.0 Replaces: sslbl/ja3-fingerprints Name: abuse.ch/urlhaus Vendor: abuse.ch Summary: Abuse.ch URLhaus Suricata Rules License: CC0-1.0 Name: aleksibovellan/nmap Vendor: aleksibovellan Summary: Suricata IDS/IPS Detection Rules Against NMAP Scans License: MIT Name: et/open Vendor: Proofpoint Summary: Emerging Threats Open Ruleset License: MIT Name: et/pro Vendor: Proofpoint Summary: Emerging Threats Pro Ruleset License: Commercial Replaces: et/open Parameters: secret-code Subscription: https://www.proofpoint.com/us/threat-insight/et-pro-ruleset Name: etnetera/aggressive Vendor: Etnetera a.s. Summary: Etnetera aggressive IP blacklist License: MIT Name: oisf/trafficid Vendor: OISF Summary: Suricata Traffic ID ruleset License: MIT Name: pawpatrules Vendor: pawpatrules Summary: PAW Patrules is a collection of rules for IDPS / NSM Suricata engine License: CC-BY-SA-4.0 Name: ptrules/open Vendor: Positive Technologies Summary: Positive Technologies Open Ruleset License: Custom Name: scwx/enhanced Vendor: Secureworks Summary: Secureworks suricata-enhanced ruleset License: Commercial Parameters: secret-code Subscription: https://www.secureworks.com/contact/ (Please reference CTU Countermeasures) Name: scwx/malware Vendor: Secureworks Summary: Secureworks suricata-malware ruleset License: Commercial Parameters: secret-code Subscription: https://www.secureworks.com/contact/ (Please reference CTU Countermeasures) Name: scwx/security Vendor: Secureworks Summary: Secureworks suricata-security ruleset License: Commercial Parameters: secret-code Subscription: https://www.secureworks.com/contact/ (Please reference CTU Countermeasures) Name: stamus/lateral Vendor: Stamus Networks Summary: Lateral movement rules License: GPL-3.0-only Name: stamus/nrd-14-open Vendor: Stamus Networks Summary: Newly Registered Domains Open only - 14 day list, complete License: Commercial Parameters: secret-code Subscription: https://www.stamus-networks.com/stamus-labs/subscribe-to-threat-intel-feed Name: stamus/nrd-30-open Vendor: Stamus Networks Summary: Newly Registered Domains Open only - 30 day list, complete License: Commercial Parameters: secret-code Subscription: https://www.stamus-networks.com/stamus-labs/subscribe-to-threat-intel-feed Name: stamus/nrd-entropy-14-open Vendor: Stamus Networks Summary: Newly Registered Domains Open only - 14 day list, high entropy License: Commercial Parameters: secret-code Subscription: https://www.stamus-networks.com/stamus-labs/subscribe-to-threat-intel-feed Name: stamus/nrd-entropy-30-open Vendor: Stamus Networks Summary: Newly Registered Domains Open only - 30 day list, high entropy License: Commercial Parameters: secret-code Subscription: https://www.stamus-networks.com/stamus-labs/subscribe-to-threat-intel-feed Name: stamus/nrd-phishing-14-open Vendor: Stamus Networks Summary: Newly Registered Domains Open only - 14 day list, phishing License: Commercial Parameters: secret-code Subscription: https://www.stamus-networks.com/stamus-labs/subscribe-to-threat-intel-feed Name: stamus/nrd-phishing-30-open Vendor: Stamus Networks Summary: Newly Registered Domains Open only - 30 day list, phishing License: Commercial Parameters: secret-code Subscription: https://www.stamus-networks.com/stamus-labs/subscribe-to-threat-intel-feed Name: tgreen/hunting Vendor: tgreen Summary: Threat hunting rules License: GPLv3 |
③Enable source (if et/open is enabled)
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 |
# suricata-update enable-source et/open 18/7/2025 -- 10:24:28 - <Info> -- Using data-directory /var/lib/suricata. 18/7/2025 -- 10:24:28 - <Info> -- Using Suricata configuration /etc/suricata/suricata.yaml 18/7/2025 -- 10:24:28 - <Info> -- Using /usr/share/suricata/rules for Suricata provided rules. 18/7/2025 -- 10:24:28 - <Info> -- Found Suricata version 7.0.10 at /usr/sbin/suricata. 18/7/2025 -- 10:24:28 - <Info> -- Source et/open enabled |
Perform update
|
1 |
# suricata-update |
Restart Suricata service
|
1 |
# systemctl restart suricata |
5.Creating Suricata Custom Rules
①Create files containing customer rules
|
1 2 3 |
# vi /etc/suricata/rules/local.rules Include the following information alert icmp any any -> $HOME_NET any (msg:"ICMP Ping"; sid:1; rev:1;) |
②Edit configuration file (define new rule paths)
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 |
# vi /etc/suricata/suricata.yaml # Added around line 2191 default-rule-path: /var/lib/suricata/rules rule-files: - suricata.rules - /etc/suricata/rules/local.rules |
③Testing the configuration file
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 |
# suricata -T -c /etc/suricata/suricata.yaml -v Notice: suricata: This is Suricata version 7.0.10 RELEASE running in SYSTEM mode Info: cpu: CPUs/cores online: 2 Info: suricata: Running suricata under test mode Info: suricata: Setting engine mode to IDS mode by default Info: exception-policy: master exception-policy set to: auto Info: logopenfile: fast output device (regular) initialized: fast.log Info: logopenfile: eve-log output device (regular) initialized: eve.json Info: logopenfile: stats output device (regular) initialized: stats.log Info: detect: 2 rule files processed. 44361 rules successfully loaded, 0 rules failed, 0 Info: threshold-config: Threshold config parsed: 0 rule(s) found Info: detect: 44364 signatures processed. 952 are IP-only rules, 4377 are inspecting packet payload, 38813 inspect application layer, 109 are decoder event only Notice: suricata: Configuration provided was successfully loaded. Exiting. |
Restart Suricata service
|
1 |
# systemctl restart suricata |
④Testing the application of Custom Rules
Ping another device on the same local network to see if it was logged
|
1 2 3 4 |
# cat /var/log/suricata/fast.log 07/18/2025-10:30:16.135957 [**] [1:1:1] ICMP Ping [**] [Classification: (null)] [Priority: 3] {ICMP} 192.168.11.8:8 -> 192.168.11.83:0 07/18/2025-10:30:16.136010 [**] [1:1:1] ICMP Ping [**] [Classification: (null)] [Priority: 3] {ICMP} 192.168.11.83:0 -> 192.168.11.8:0 |
To get logs in JSON format, install jq on your system
|
1 |
# dnf install jq |
|
1 |
# systemctl restart suricata |
Execute the following command to ping another device on the same local network
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 |
# tail -f /var/log/suricata/eve.json | jq 'select(.event_type=="alert")' When ping is executed, the following is displayed in the console { "timestamp": "2025-07-18T10:33:16.646473+0900", "flow_id": 1369206588307370, "in_iface": "ens160", "event_type": "alert", "src_ip": "192.168.11.8", "dest_ip": "192.168.11.83", "proto": "ICMP", "icmp_type": 8, "icmp_code": 0, "pkt_src": "wire/pcap", "alert": { "action": "allowed", "gid": 1, "signature_id": 1, "rev": 1, "signature": "ICMP Ping", "category": "", "severity": 3 }, "direction": "to_server", "flow": { "pkts_toserver": 1, "pkts_toclient": 0, "bytes_toserver": 74, "bytes_toclient": 0, "start": "2025-07-18T10:33:16.646473+0900", "src_ip": "192.168.11.8", "dest_ip": "192.168.11.83" } } |