CTCI collector

Overview

CTCI curates a CEWL (CVE Early Warning List) that threat actors are currently using or about to use.

Devo collector features

Feature	Details
Allow parallel downloading (`multipod`)	`allowed`
Running environments	`collector server` `on-premise`
Populated Devo events	`lookups`
Flattening preprocessing	`no`
Allowed source events obfuscation	`yes`

Data sources

Data source

Description

API endpoint

Collector service name

Devo table

Data source

1

CEWL

Audit log entries

/api/v1/cewl

-

v0.0

For more information on how the events are parsed, visit our page.

Minimum configuration required for basic pulling

Although this collector supports advanced configuration, the fields required to retrieve data with basic configuration are defined below.

This minimum configuration refers exclusively to those specific parameters of this integration. There are more required parameters related to the generic behavior of the collector. Check setting sections for details.

Setting	Details
`api_token`	Required

See the Accepted authentication methods section to verify what settings are required based on the desired authentication method.

Accepted authentication methods

Setting	Details
`api_token`	The CTCI API token copied from the admin portal.

Run the collector

Once the data source is configured, you can either send us the required information if you want us to host and manage the collector for you (Cloud collector), or deploy and host the collector in your own machine using a Docker image (On-premise collector).

Collector services detail

This section is intended to explain how to proceed with specific actions for services.

Events service

Verify data collection

Once the collector has been launched, it is important to check if the ingestion is performed in a proper way. To do so, go to the collector’s logs console.

This service has the following components:

Component	Description
Setup	The setup module is in charge of authenticating the service and managing the token expiration when needed.
Puller	The setup module is in charge of pulling the data in a organized way and delivering the events via SDK.

Setup output

A successful run has the following output messages for the setup module:

INFO MainThread -> [SETUP] ThreatQuotientDataPullerSetup(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) - Starting thread
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPullerSetup(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Puller Setup Started
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPullerSetup(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> We do not have a token. Getting a new one from the server.
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPullerSetup(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Attempting to get OAuth2 token from ThreatQuotient server....
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPullerSetup(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Attempting to get from client_id ThreatQuotient server....
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPullerSetup(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Successfully received a client_id token from (...)/assets/js/config.js
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPullerSetup(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Successfully received JWT token from (...) which expires in 3599 seconds
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPullerSetup(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Puller Setup Terminated
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPullerSetup(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Setup for module "ThreatQuotientDataPuller" has been successfully executed

Puller output

A successful initial run has the following output messages for the puller module:

Note that the PrePull action is executed only one time before the first run of the Pull action.

INFO MainThread -> [INPUT] ThreatQuotientDataPuller(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) - Starting thread
WARNING ThreatQuotientDataPuller(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Waiting until setup will be executed
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPuller(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> PrePull Started
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPuller(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> PrePull terminated
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPuller(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Starting data collection every 5 seconds
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPuller(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Pull Started. Retrieving timestamp: 2022-06-28 13:00:59.276966+00:00
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPuller(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Started getting events from ThreatQuotient
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPuller(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Started getting events from ThreatQuotient
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPuller(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Started sending events to Devo
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPuller(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Statistics for this pull cycle (@devo_pulling_id=1656421259.276966): Number of requests performed: 2; Number of events received: 1; Number of duplicated events filtered out: 0; Number of events generated and sent: 2 (from 1 unflattened events); Average of events per second: 4.179186813829765.
WARNING ThreatQuotientDataPuller(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> last_fetched_event_id and last_update_time saved in state: {'last_polled_time': 1656342870.739774, 'reset_persistence_auth': '', 'all_events_ids': [17653]}
WARNING ThreatQuotientDataPuller(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Last polled time saved in state: {'last_polled_time': 1656421259.276966, 'reset_persistence_auth': '', 'all_events_ids': [17653]}
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPuller(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Pull terminated
INFO ThreatQuotientDataPuller(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Data collection completed. Elapsed time: 0.483 seconds. Waiting for 4.517 second(s) until the next one

After a successful collector’s execution (that is, no error logs found), you will see the following log message:

INFO ThreatQuotientDataPuller(threatquotient_collector,threatquotient_data_puller#111,events#predefined) -> Statistics for this pull cycle (@devo_pulling_id=1655983326.290848): Number of requests performed: 2; Number of events received: 52; Number of duplicated events filtered out: 0; Number of events generated and sent: 52 (from 52 unflattened events); Average of events per second: 92.99414315733.

The value @devo_pulling_id is injected in each event to group all events ingested by the same pull action. You can use it to get the exact events downloaded in that Pull action in Devo’s search window.

Restart the persistence

This collector uses persistent storage to download events in an orderly fashion and avoid duplicates. In case you want to re-ingest historical data or recreate the persistence, you can restart the persistence of this collector by following these steps:

Edit the configuration file.
Change the value of the reset_persistence_auth parameter to a different one.
Save the changes.
Restart the collector.

The collector will detect this change and will restart the persistence using the parameters of the configuration file or the default configuration in case it has not been provided.

Note that this action clears the persistence and cannot be recovered in any way. Resetting persistence could result in duplicate or lost events.

Troubleshooting

This collector has different security layers that detect both an invalid configuration and abnormal operation. This table will help you detect and resolve the most common errors.

Error type	Error ID	Error message	Cause	Solution
SetupError	1	`api_base_url must be specified`	The `api_base_url` setting is missing.	Make sure the `api_base_url` setting is present under the `events` service in your configuration.
	2	`api_base_url not of expected type: str`	The `api_base_url` setting has a type other than string.	Make sure the `api_base_url` setting is a string.
	3	`api_base_url must match one of two regexes: [...]`	The `api_base_url` setting does not follow the expected format.	Make sure your `api_base_url` has this format: `http[s]://{ip_address_or_domain}{:optional_port}`
	4	`Required setting, credentials not found in user configuration`	There is no `credentials` section in your input settings.	Make sure there is a `credentials` section under the `threatquotient_data_puller` input in your configuration.
	5	`Required setting, credentials not of expected type: dict`	The `credentials` section is empty or has a simple type (is not an object).	Make sure the `credentials` section has a `username` and `password` fields.
	6	`Required setting, username not found in user configuration`	The `username` setting is missing.	Make sure the `username` setting from the `credentials` section has a value.
	7	`Required setting, username not of expected type: str`	The `username` setting has a type other than string.	Make sure the `username` setting from the `credentials` section is a string.
	8	`Required setting, password not found in user configuration`	The `password` setting is missing.	Make sure the `password` setting from the `credentials` section has a value.
	9	`Required setting, password not of expected type: str`	The `password` setting has a type other than string.	Make sure the `password` setting from the `credentials` section is a string.
	10	`Optional setting, verify_host_ssl_cert not of expected type: bool`	The `verify_host_ssl_cert` setting has a type other than boolean.	Make sure the `verify_host_ssl_cert` setting is a boolean value (`true`/`false`).
	11	`event_fetch_limit_in_items must be greater than or equal to [...] and less than equal to [...]`	The `event_fetch_limit_in_items` setting has a value too low or too high for the specified limits.	Make sure the `event_fetch_limit_in_items` setting is an integer ranged between the specified limits.
	12	`devo_tag_map must have an entry named "default"`	This error is not expected to happen in a regular flow.	This needs to be troubleshooted by the colllector’s developers.
	13	`Required setting, reset_persistence_auth not of expected type: str`	The `reset_persistence_auth` setting has a value, but its type is other than string.	Make sure the `reset_persistence_auth` setting is a string.
	14	`Required setting, historical_poll_datetime not of expected type: str`	The `historical_poll_datetime` setting has a type other than string.	Make sure the `historical_poll_datetime` setting is a string.
	15	`historical_poll_datetime does not match expected format [...]`	The `historical_poll_datetime` setting does not look like a valid date.	Make sure the `historical_poll_datetime` setting meets the mentioned format (a reference of this representation can be found here).
	16	`Please enter valid date for historical_poll_datetime less than or equal to one year`	The `historical_poll_datetime` setting is a date older than one year.	Make sure the `historical_poll_datetime` setting does not represent a date older than one year.
	17	`Please enter valid date for historical_poll_datetime less than or equal to the current date`	The `historical_poll_datetime` setting is a future date.	Make sure the `historical_poll_datetime` setting does not represent a future date.
InitVariablesError	100	`Unexpected status code when fetching ThreatQuotient JWT: [...]`	When a token was retrieved, the response had an unexpected error code.	Make sure your credentials are correct.
	101	`Unexpected status code when fetching ThreatQuotient client_id: [...]`	The collector is having issues connecting to the ThreatQ instance.	Make sure you have properly configured the `api_base_url` setting and that you can access the `{api_base_url}/assets/js/config.js` URL.
	102	`Cannot parse client_id from ThreatQuotient server`	The collector was expecting to find the Client’s ID, but could not find it. This is likely because the ThreatQ has been upgraded and the collector does not support it.	This needs to be troubleshooted by the colllector’s developers.
ApiError	400	`Unexpected status code when fetching ThreatQuotient events: [...]`	This error happens when the collector tries to fetch the ThreatQ events from its REST API.	In this error you will find the HTTP error code as long as the response’s text. This information should be enough to understand why is the error happening. Otherwise, please contact support.

Collector operations

This section is intended to explain how to proceed with specific operations of this collector.

Verify collector operations

Initialization

The initialization module is in charge of setup and running the input (pulling logic) and output (delivering logic) services and validating the given configuration.

A successful run has the following output messages for the initializer module:

2023-01-10T15:22:57.146    INFO MainProcess::MainThread -> Loading configuration using the following files: {"full_config": "config-test-local.yaml", "job_config_loc": null, "collector_config_loc": null}
2023-01-10T15:22:57.146    INFO MainProcess::MainThread -> Using the default location for "job_config_loc" file: "/etc/devo/job/job_config.json"
2023-01-10T15:22:57.147    INFO MainProcess::MainThread -> "\etc\devo\job" does not exists
2023-01-10T15:22:57.147    INFO MainProcess::MainThread -> Using the default location for "collector_config_loc" file: "/etc/devo/collector/collector_config.json"
2023-01-10T15:22:57.148    INFO MainProcess::MainThread -> "\etc\devo\collector" does not exists
2023-01-10T15:22:57.148    INFO MainProcess::MainThread -> Results of validation of config files parameters: {"config": "C:\git\collectors2\devo-collector-<name>\config\config.yaml", "config_validated": True, "job_config_loc": "/etc/devo/job/job_config.json", "job_config_loc_default": True, "job_config_loc_validated": False, "collector_config_loc": "/etc/devo/collector/collector_config.json", "collector_config_loc_default": True, "collector_config_loc_validated": False}
2023-01-10T15:22:57.171 WARNING MainProcess::MainThread -> [WARNING] Illegal global setting has been ignored -> multiprocessing: False

Events delivery and Devo ingestion

The event delivery module is in charge of receiving the events from the internal queues where all events are injected by the pullers and delivering them using the selected compatible delivery method.

A successful run has the following output messages for the initializer module:

2023-01-10T15:23:00.788    INFO OutputProcess::MainThread -> DevoSender(standard_senders,devo_sender_0) -> Starting thread
2023-01-10T15:23:00.789    INFO OutputProcess::MainThread -> DevoSenderManagerMonitor(standard_senders,devo_1) -> Starting thread (every 300 seconds)
2023-01-10T15:23:00.790    INFO OutputProcess::MainThread -> DevoSenderManager(standard_senders,manager,devo_1) -> Starting thread
2023-01-10T15:23:00.842    INFO OutputProcess::MainThread -> global_status: {"output_process": {"process_id": 18804, "process_status": "running", "thread_counter": 21, "thread_names": ["MainThread", "pydevd.Writer", "pydevd.Reader", "pydevd.CommandThread", "pydevd.CheckAliveThread", "DevoSender(standard_senders,devo_sender_0)", "DevoSenderManagerMonitor(standard_senders,devo_1)", "DevoSenderManager(standard_senders,manager,devo_1)", "OutputStandardConsumer(standard_senders_consumer_0)",

Sender services

The Integrations Factory Collector SDK has 3 different senders services depending on the event type to delivery (internal, standard, and lookup). This collector uses the following Sender Services:

Logging trace

Description

Number of available senders: 1

Displays the number of concurrent senders available for the given sender service.

sender manager internal queue size: 0

Displays the items available in the internal sender queue.

This value helps detect bottlenecks and needs to increase the performance of data delivery to Devo. This last can be made by increasing the concurrent senders.

Total number of messages sent: 44, messages sent since "2022-06-28 10:39:22.511671+00:00": 21 (elapsed 0.007 seconds)

Displayes the number of events from the last time and following the given example, the following conclusions can be obtained:

44 events were sent to Devo since the collector started.
The last checkpoint timestamp was 2022-06-28 10:39:22.511671+00:00.
21 events where sent to Devo between the last UTC checkpoint and now.
Those 21 events required 0.007 seconds to be delivered.

By default these traces will be shown every 10 minutes.

Sender statistics

Each service displays its own performance statistics that allow checking how many events have been delivered to Devo by type:

Logging trace

Description

Number of available senders: 1

Displays the number of concurrent senders available for the given Sender Service.

sender manager internal queue size: 0

Displays the items available in the internal sender queue.

Standard - Total number of messages sent: 57, messages sent since "2023-01-10 16:09:16.116750+00:00": 0 (elapsed 0.000 seconds

Displays the number of events from the last time and following the given example, the following conclusions can be obtained:

57 events were sent to Devo since the collector started.
The last checkpoint timestamp was 2023-01-10 16:09:16.116750+00:00.
21 events where sent to Devo between the last UTC checkpoint and now.
Those 21 events required 0.00 seconds to be delivered.

Check memory usage

To check the memory usage of this collector, look for the following log records in the collector which are displayed every 5 minutes by default, always after running the memory-free process.

The used memory is displayed by running processes and the sum of both values will give the total used memory for the collector.
The global pressure of the available memory is displayed in the global value.
All metrics (Global, RSS, VMS) include the value before freeing and after previous -> after freeing memory

INFO InputProcess::MainThread -> [GC] global: 20.4% -> 20.4%, process: RSS(34.50MiB -> 34.08MiB), VMS(410.52MiB -> 410.02MiB)
INFO OutputProcess::MainThread -> [GC] global: 20.4% -> 20.4%, process: RSS(28.41MiB -> 28.41MiB), VMS(705.28MiB -> 705.28MiB)

Change log for v1.x.x

Release	Released on	Release type	Details	Recommendations
`v1.0.0`	17 May 2023	NEW COLLECTOR	New collector	`-`