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 on your system
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# dnf -y install epel-release |
②System Update
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# dnf update -y |
2.Suricata Installation and Configuration
①Suricata install
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# 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
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# ip --brief add lo UNKNOWN 127.0.0.1/8 ens160 UP 192.168.11.83/24 |
③Edit configuration file
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# vi /etc/suricata/suricata.yaml # Line 15 : In the "vars" section, define the network HOME_NET: "[192.168.11.0/24]" # Per Line 622 : Set interface name in "af-packet" section af-packet: - interface: ens160 |
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# vi /etc/sysconfig/suricata # Line 8 :Specify interface # Add options to be passed to the daemon OPTIONS="-i ens160 --user suricata " |
④Suricata rules update
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# suricata-update ---------------------------------------------- 17/4/2025 -- 14:19:18 - <Info> -- Loaded 58352 rules. 17/4/2025 -- 14:19:18 - <Info> -- Disabled 13 rules. 17/4/2025 -- 14:19:18 - <Info> -- Enabled 0 rules. 17/4/2025 -- 14:19:18 - <Info> -- Modified 0 rules. 17/4/2025 -- 14:19:18 - <Info> -- Dropped 0 rules. 17/4/2025 -- 14:19:18 - <Info> -- Enabled 136 rules for flowbit dependencies. 17/4/2025 -- 14:19:18 - <Info> -- Creating directory /var/lib/suricata/rules. 17/4/2025 -- 14:19:18 - <Info> -- Backing up current rules. 17/4/2025 -- 14:19:18 - <Info> -- Writing rules to /var/lib/suricata/rules/suricata.rules: total: 58352; enabled: 42911; added: 58352; removed 0; modified: 0 17/4/2025 -- 14:19:18 - <Info> -- Writing /var/lib/suricata/rules/classification.config 17/4/2025 -- 14:19:18 - <Info> -- Testing with suricata -T. 17/4/2025 -- 14:19:45 - <Info> -- Done. |
⑤Activate Suricata
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# systemctl enable --now suricata Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multiuser.target.wants/suricata.service → /usr/lib/systemd/system/suricata.service. |
⑥Confirm Suricata startup
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# systemctl status suricata ● suricata.service - Suricata Intrusion Detection Service Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/suricata.service; enabled; preset: disabled) Drop-In: /usr/lib/systemd/system/service.d mq10-timeout-abort.conf, 50-keep-warm.conf Active: active (running) since Thu 2025-04-17 14:20:31 JST; 7s ago Invocation: ff7e8519505f4af7a5f192c27daa516b Docs: man:suricata(1) Process: 10109 ExecStartPre=/bin/rm -f /var/run/suricata.pid (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS) Main PID: 10110 (Suricata-Main) Tasks: 1 (limit: 4583) Memory: 179.2M (peak: 179.2M) CPU: 7.383s CGroup: /system.slice/suricata.service mq10110 /sbin/suricata -c /etc/suricata/suricata.yaml --pidfile /var/run/suricata.pid -i ens160 --user > Apr 17 14:20:31 Lepard systemd[1]: Starting suricata.service - Suricata Intrusion Detection Service... Apr 17 14:20:31 Lepard systemd[1]: Started suricata.service - Suricata Intrusion Detection Service. Apr 17 14:20:31 Lepard suricata[10110]: i: suricata: This is Suricata version 7.0.10 RELEASE running in SYSTEM mode |
Check Log
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# tail /var/log/suricata/suricata.log [10110 - Suricata-Main] 2025-04-17 14:20:31 Info: logopenfile: fast output device (regular) initialized: fast.log [10110 - Suricata-Main] 2025-04-17 14:20:31 Info: logopenfile: eve-log output device (regular) initialized: eve.json [10110 - Suricata-Main] 2025-04-17 14:20:31 Info: logopenfile: stats output device (regular) initialized: stats.log [10110 - Suricata-Main] 2025-04-17 14:20:45 Info: detect: 1 rule files processed. 42911 rules successfully loaded, 0 rules failed, 0 [10110 - Suricata-Main] 2025-04-17 14:20:45 Info: threshold-config: Threshold config parsed: 0 rule(s) found [10110 - Suricata-Main] 2025-04-17 14:20:45 Info: detect: 42914 signatures processed. 1253 are IP-only rules, 4336 are inspecting packet payload, 37108 inspect application layer, 109 are decoder event only [10110 - Suricata-Main] 2025-04-17 14:20:58 Warning: af-packet: ens160: AF_PACKET tpacket-v3 is recommended for non-inline operation [10110 - Suricata-Main] 2025-04-17 14:20:58 Info: runmodes: ens160: creating 4 threads [10110 - Suricata-Main] 2025-04-17 14:20:58 Info: unix-manager: unix socket '/var/run/suricata/suricata-command.socket' [10110 - Suricata-Main] 2025-04-17 14:20:58 Notice: threads: Threads created -> W: 4 FM: 1 FR: 1 Engine started. |
Check the stats.log file for statistics (updated every 8 seconds by default)
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# tail -f /var/log/suricata/stats.log |
A more advanced output, EVE JSON, can be generated with the following command
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# tail -f /var/log/suricata/eve.json |
3. Suricata Testing
①Run ping test with curl utility
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# 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
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# cat /var/log/suricata/fast.log 04/17/2025-14:24:33.893218 [**] [1:2100498:7] GPL ATTACK_RESPONSE id check returned root [**] [Classification: Potentially Bad Traffic] [Priority: 2] {TCP} 13.249.146.114:80 -> 192.168.11.83:56576 |
4.Setting Suricata Rules
①Display of rule sets packaged in Suricata
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# ls -al /var/lib/suricata/rules/ total 35872 drwxr-s--- 2 root suricata 57 Apr 17 14:19 . drwxrws--- 4 suricata suricata 33 Apr 17 14:19 .. -rw-r--r-- 1 root suricata 3228 Apr 17 14:19 classification.config -rw-r--r-- 1 root suricata 36726015 Apr 17 14:19 suricata.rules |
②Index list of sources providing rule sets
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# 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 tgreen/hunting is enabled)
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# suricata-update enable-source tgreen/hunting 17/4/2025 -- 14:28:12 - <Info> -- Using data-directory /var/lib/suricata. 17/4/2025 -- 14:28:12 - <Info> -- Using Suricata configuration /etc/suricata/suricata.yaml 17/4/2025 -- 14:28:12 - <Info> -- Using /usr/share/suricata/rules for Suricata provided rules. 17/4/2025 -- 14:28:12 - <Info> -- Found Suricata version 7.0.10 at /usr/sbin/suricata. 17/4/2025 -- 14:28:12 - <Warning> -- Source index does not exist, will use bundled one. 17/4/2025 -- 14:28:12 - <Warning> -- Please run suricata-update update-sources. 17/4/2025 -- 14:28:12 - <Info> -- Creating directory /var/lib/suricata/update/sources 17/4/2025 -- 14:28:12 - <Info> -- Enabling default source et/open 17/4/2025 -- 14:28:12 - <Info> -- Source tgreen/hunting enabled |
Perform update
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# suricata-update update-sources |
Restart Suricata service
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# systemctl restart suricata |
5.Creating Suricata Custom Rules
①Create files containing customer rules
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# vi /var/lib/suricata/rules/local.rules Include the following information alert icmp any any -> any any (msg:"ICMP Ping"; sid:200000; rev:1;) |
②Edit configuration file (define new rule paths)
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# vi /etc/suricata/suricata.yaml # Added around line 2192 default-rule-path: /var/lib/suricata/rules rule-files: - suricata.rules - local.rules |
③Testing the configuration file
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# 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: 4 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. 43162 rules successfully loaded, 0 rules failed, 0 Info: threshold-config: Threshold config parsed: 0 rule(s) found Info: detect: 43165 signatures processed. 1254 are IP-only rules, 4453 are inspecting packet payload, 37241 inspect application layer, 109 are decoder event only Notice: suricata: Configuration provided was successfully loaded. Exiting. |
Restart Suricat service
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# systemctl restart suricata |
④Testing the application of Custom Rules
Ping another device on the same local network to see if it was logged
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# cat /var/log/suricata/fast.log 04/17/2025-15:20:48.098166 [**] [1:1:1] ICMP Ping [**] [Classification: (null)] [Priority: 3] {ICMP} 192.168.11.8:8 -> 192.168.11.83:0 04/17/2025-15:20:48.098215 [**] [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
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# dnf install jq |
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# systemctl restart suricata |
Execute the following command to ping another device on the same local network
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# tail -f /var/log/suricata/eve.json | jq 'select(.event_type=="alert")' When ping is executed, the following is displayed in the console { "timestamp": "2025-04-17T15:38:46.722933+0900", "flow_id": 1697305740032011, "in_iface": "ens160", "event_type": "alert", "src_ip": "192.168.11.83", "dest_ip": "192.168.11.8", "proto": "ICMP", "icmp_type": 0, "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_client", "flow": { "pkts_toserver": 2, "pkts_toclient": 1, "bytes_toserver": 148, "bytes_toclient": 74, "start": "2025-04-17T15:38:46.722864+0900", "src_ip": "192.168.11.8", "dest_ip": "192.168.11.83" } } |