Collect OpenLDAP logs

Supported in:

This document explains how to ingest OpenLDAP logs to Google Security Operations using Bindplane.

OpenLDAP is an open-source LDAP directory server that generates access, audit, and replication logs. The parser extracts fields from OpenLDAP log entries and maps them to the Unified Data Model (UDM), capturing user identity, authentication events, LDAP operations, and security results.

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following prerequisites:

  • A Google SecOps instance
  • Windows Server 2016 or later, or Linux host with systemd
  • Network connectivity between the Bindplane agent and the OpenLDAP server
  • If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
  • Privileged access to the OpenLDAP server with root or administrative permissions

Get Google SecOps credentials for the Bindplane agent

To authenticate the Bindplane agent to Google SecOps, choose one of the following methods:

  • New deployments: Use the Chronicle API (Option 1).
  • Legacy deployments: Continue using the ingestion authentication file (Option 2) until the Ingestion API is discontinued on July 20, 2027.
  1. Sign in to the Google Cloud console and select the Google Cloud project that is linked to your Google SecOps instance.
  2. Go to IAM & Admin > Service Accounts.
  3. Click Create service account.
  4. Provide the following configuration details:
    • Service account name: Enter a name for the account (for example, bindplane-ingest).
    • Service account description: Enter a description (for example, Bindplane agent log ingestion).
  5. Click Create and continue.
  6. In the Grant this service account access to project section, click Select a role and select Chronicle Editor.
  7. Click Continue, and then click Done.
  8. Click the service account you created, and then go to the Keys tab.
  9. Click Add key > Create new key.
  10. Select JSON and click Create. The key file is downloaded to your computer.
  11. Save the key file as ingestion-auth.json in the Bindplane collector directory (/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json on Linux or C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.json on Windows), or update creds_file_path in config.yaml to match the path where you save it.
  12. Go to IAM & Admin > Settings and copy the Project number. You'll need it for the exporter configuration.

Option 2: Download the ingestion authentication file (legacy)

  1. Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
  2. Go to SIEM Settings > Collection Agents.
  3. Download the ingestion authentication file.
  4. Save the file securely on the system where the Bindplane agent will be installed.

Get Google SecOps customer ID

  1. Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
  2. Go to SIEM Settings > Profile.

  3. Copy and save the Customer ID from the Organization Details section.

Install the Bindplane agent

Install the Bindplane agent on your Windows or Linux operating system according to the following instructions.

Windows installation

  1. Open Command Prompt or PowerShell as an administrator.

  2. Run the following command:

    msiexec /i "https://github.com/observIQ/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/observiq-otel-collector.msi" /quiet

  3. Wait for the installation to complete.

  4. Verify the installation by running:

    sc query observiq-otel-collector

The service should show as RUNNING.

Linux installation

  1. Open a terminal with root or sudo privileges.

  2. Run the following command:

    sudo sh -c "$(curl -fsSlL https://github.com/observiq/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/install_unix.sh)" install_unix.sh

  3. Wait for the installation to complete.

  4. Verify the installation by running:

    sudo systemctl status observiq-otel-collector

The service should show as active (running).

Additional installation resources

For additional installation options and troubleshooting, see Bindplane agent installation guide.

Configure the Bindplane agent to ingest syslog and send to Google SecOps

Locate the configuration file

  • Linux:

    sudo nano /opt/observiq-otel-collector/config.yaml

  • Windows:

    notepad "C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\config.yaml"

Edit the configuration file

  • Replace the entire contents of config.yaml with the following configuration:

    receivers:
  udplog:
    listen_address: "0.0.0.0:514"

exporters:
  chronicle/openldap:
    protocol: https
    # Region of your instance, for example us, europe, asia-southeast1
    location: <LOCATION>
    # Project number of the Google Cloud project linked to the instance
    project: '<PROJECT_NUMBER>'
    compression: gzip
    creds_file_path: '/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json'
    customer_id: '<customer_id>'
    endpoint: chronicle.googleapis.com
    log_type: OPENLDAP
    raw_log_field: body

service:
  pipelines:
    logs/openldap:
      receivers:
        - udplog
      exporters:
        - chronicle/openldap

Configuration parameters

Replace the following placeholders:

  • Receiver configuration:

    • udplog: The receiver type based on protocol:
      • udplog for UDP syslog
      • tcplog for TCP syslog
      • syslog for RFC 3164/5424 syslog
    • 0.0.0.0: IP address to listen on:
      • 0.0.0.0 to listen on all interfaces (recommended)
      • Specific IP address to listen on one interface
    • 514: Port number to listen on (for example, 514, 1514, 6514)

  • Exporter configuration:

    • <customer_id>: Customer ID from the earlier step
    • location: Replace <LOCATION> with the region of your Google SecOps instance (for example, us, europe, or asia-southeast1). The exporter prefixes chronicle.googleapis.com with this value. See Regional Endpoints for the complete list.
    • project: Replace <PROJECT_NUMBER> with the project number from IAM & Admin > Settings.
    • endpoint: Keep set to chronicle.googleapis.com.
    • Adjust the creds_file_path to the path of your service account JSON key file (Option 1), depending on the platform:
      • Linux: /opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json
      • Windows: C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.json

Legacy ingestion API exporter

  • If you use the ingestion authentication file from Option 2, replace the exporters block with the following. Set creds_file_path to the path to the ingestion authentication file, and if your instance is outside the US, replace malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com with your regional endpoint (for example, europe-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com).

    exporters:
  chronicle/openldap:
    compression: gzip
    creds_file_path: '/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json'
    customer_id: '<customer_id>'
    endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
    log_type: OPENLDAP
    raw_log_field: body

Save the configuration file

  • After editing, save the file:
    • Linux: Press Ctrl+O, then Enter, then Ctrl+X
    • Windows: Click File > Save

Restart the Bindplane agent to apply the changes

To restart the Bindplane agent in Linux:

  1. Run the following command:

    sudo systemctl restart observiq-otel-collector

  2. Verify the service is running:

    sudo systemctl status observiq-otel-collector

  3. Check logs for errors:

    sudo journalctl -u observiq-otel-collector -f

To restart the Bindplane agent in Windows:

  1. Choose one of the following options:

    • Command Prompt or PowerShell as administrator:
    net stop observiq-otel-collector && net start observiq-otel-collector
    • Services console:
      1. Press Win+R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
      2. Locate observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector.
      3. Right-click and select Restart.

  2. Verify the service is running:

    sc query observiq-otel-collector

  3. Check logs for errors:

    type "C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\log\collector.log"

Configure OpenLDAP syslog forwarding

OpenLDAP (slapd) can be configured to log via syslog. Configure the syslog daemon to forward OpenLDAP logs to the Bindplane agent.

  1. Verify that OpenLDAP is configured to log to syslog. Check the slapd.conf or cn=config for the loglevel directive:

    loglevel stats conns

  2. OpenLDAP logs to the local4 syslog facility by default. Configure rsyslog to forward these logs to the Bindplane agent. Create a configuration file:

    sudo nano /etc/rsyslog.d/openldap-forward.conf

  3. Add the following content:

    local4.* @BINDPLANE_AGENT_IP:514

  4. Restart the rsyslog service:

    sudo systemctl restart rsyslog

UDM mapping table

Log Field UDM Mapping Logic
op, fd, ou, cn, dc, dc1, base1, base2, base3, scope_data, valueData, method, filter, tag_data, err, attrData, ou_2, ou_1, syslog_message, immutable_user_id, resource additional.fields Merged with labels created from these fields
extensions.auth.type Set to "AUTHTYPE_UNSPECIFIED"
caller_ip, proxy1_ip, proxy2_ip intermediary Merged from intermediary, proxy_1, proxy_2
msg1, inner_message metadata.description Value from msg1 or inner_message
metadata.event_type Set to "GENERIC_EVENT" initially, then "STATUS_UPDATE" if principal IP present, "USER_UNCATEGORIZED" if user present, "USER_LOGIN" if timestamp or inner_ts present
ldap_action metadata.product_event_type Value from ldap_action lowercased
ldap_conn metadata.product_log_id Value from ldap_conn after removing "conn="
user_agent network.http.user_agent Value copied directly
session_id network.session_id Value copied directly
principal_ip, prin_ip, caller_ip, r_ip_or_host, proxy_client_ip, src_ip, client_ip principal.asset.ip Merged from principal_ip (after replacing - with .), prin_ip, caller_ip, r_ip_or_host (if IP), proxy_client_ip, src_ip, client_ip
r_ip_or_host, src_host principal.hostname Value from r_ip_or_host if hostname, else src_host
principal_ip, prin_ip, caller_ip, r_ip_or_host, proxy_client_ip, src_ip, client_ip principal.ip Merged from principal_ip (after replacing - with .), prin_ip, caller_ip, r_ip_or_host (if IP), proxy_client_ip, src_ip, client_ip
country principal.location.country_or_region Value copied directly
prin_port, port, src_port principal.port Value from prin_port, port, or src_port, converted to integer
syslog_process principal.process.file.full_path Value copied directly
syslog_pid principal.process.pid Value copied directly
org_name principal.user.company_name Value copied directly
user, cn, uid principal.user.userid Value from user, cn, or uid
security_result security_result Merged directly
action, sec_action security_result.action Value from action (based on err codes) or sec_action (based on login_status)
resource, immutable_user_id security_result.detection_fields Merged with labels from resource and immutable_user_id
inner_descrption, security_description security_result.description Value from inner_descrption or security_description
tuser, username, userid target.user.userid Value from tuser, username, or userid
metadata.product_name Set to "OpenLDAP"
metadata.vendor_name Set to "OpenLDAP"
eventType event.idm.read_only_udm.metadata.product_event_type Mapped from changelog
cn event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
sequenceId event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
dc_2 event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
dc_3 event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
dc event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
dc_1 event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
user event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.user.userid Mapped from changelog
path event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.process.file.full_path Mapped from changelog
ip1 principal.ip Mapped from changelog
base", "err", "attr", "tag", "scope", and "valueData additional.fields Mapped from changelog
security_result.action ALLOW Mapped from changelog
security_result.action BLOCK Mapped from changelog

Change Log

View the Change Log for this parser

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