Angerona/documentation-payload/Cazalla/logging.md

+++ title = "Logging & Syslog" chapter = false weight = 50 pre = "7. " +++

📊 Logging & Syslog

Cazalla includes a complete logging system that records all Mythic events and sends them to a central syslog server for analysis and auditing.

🎯 Description

Cazalla's logging system:

• ✅ Logs ALL events from Mythic automatically
• ✅ Does not modify the agent (avoids detections)
• ✅ Runs on the server, not on the target
• ✅ Sends logs to syslog central for analysis
• ✅ Saves local logs as backup
• ✅ Structured JSON format for easy parsing

📋 Logged Events

The logger automatically captures all these events:

Event	Description
CALLBACK	When an agent connects or checks in
TASK	When a task is created or updated (commands executed)
RESPONSE	Agent responses (command output)
CREDENTIAL	Captured credentials
KEYLOG	Keystrokes captured by the keylogger
FILE	Files uploaded or downloaded
ARTIFACT	Generated artifacts (IOCs, processes created, etc.)
PAYLOAD	Created payloads

⚙️ Configuration

Step 1: Configure the Logger

The logger is configured via a configuration file. You don't need to modify docker-compose.yml.

1. Edit the configuration file:

   nano Payload_Type/cazalla/logger/syslog.conf
   

2. Configure the syslog server IP:

   # If rsyslog is on the same host as Mythic, use the host IP
   SYSLOG_SERVER=10.8.20.50
   
   # Or if using Docker bridge
   SYSLOG_SERVER=172.17.0.1
   
   # Port (default 514)
   SYSLOG_PORT=514
   
   # Syslog facility (16 = LOCAL0, recommended)
   SYSLOG_FACILITY=16
   

3. Rebuild and restart the container:

   cd /opt/mythic
   sudo ./mythic-cli build cazalla
   sudo ./mythic-cli restart cazalla
   

Step 2: Configure rsyslog on the Host (Optional)

If you want to receive logs on the same server where Mythic runs:

1. Install rsyslog (if not installed):

   sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y rsyslog
   

2. Enable UDP reception in /etc/rsyslog.conf:

   sudo sed -i 's/#module(load="imudp")/module(load="imudp")/' /etc/rsyslog.conf
   sudo sed -i 's/#input(type="imudp" port="514")/input(type="imudp" port="514")/' /etc/rsyslog.conf
   

3. Create rule for Cazalla in /etc/rsyslog.d/50-cazalla.conf:

   sudo bash -c 'cat > /etc/rsyslog.d/50-cazalla.conf << EOF
   # Logs from Cazalla Mythic agent
   # Filter by facility LOCAL0 (16)
   if \$syslogfacility-text == "local0" then /var/log/cazalla.log
   & stop
   EOF
   '
   

4. Restart rsyslog:

   sudo systemctl restart rsyslog
   sudo systemctl enable rsyslog
   

5. Verify it's listening:

   sudo netstat -ulnp | grep 514
   # You should see: UNCONN ... 0.0.0.0:514 ... rsyslogd
   

📊 Verification

Verify Logger is Active

# View container logs
sudo docker logs cazalla | grep -i "syslog\|Logger initialized"

# You should see:
# INFO:cazalla_logger:Syslog client initialized: 10.8.20.50:514 (facility=16)
# INFO:cazalla_logger:Logger initialized: cazalla_logger

View Logs in Real-Time

# View logs in syslog (host)
sudo tail -f /var/log/cazalla.log

# View local logs (inside container)
sudo docker exec cazalla tail -f /tmp/cazalla_mythic_$(date +%Y-%m-%d).log

View Specific Events

# View only tasks
sudo tail -100 /var/log/cazalla.log | grep '"event_type": "TASK"'

# View only responses
sudo tail -100 /var/log/cazalla.log | grep '"event_type": "RESPONSE"'

# Count events by type
sudo tail -1000 /var/log/cazalla.log | grep -o '"event_type": "[^"]*"' | sort | uniq -c

📝 Log Format

Logs are saved in structured JSON format for easy parsing:

{
  "event_type": "TASK",
  "timestamp": "2025-11-17T15:18:23.117715674Z",
  "operation_id": 1,
  "operation_name": "Operation Chimera",
  "username": "mythic_admin",
  "action": "new_task",
  "server_name": "mythic",
  "data": {
    "id": 18,
    "command_name": "shell",
    "params": "{\"command\":\"whoami\"}",
    "status": "success",
    "callback_id": 2,
    "operator_username": "mythic_admin",
    ...
  }
}

Log Locations

• Syslog (host): /var/log/cazalla.log
• Local logs (container): /tmp/cazalla_mythic_YYYY-MM-DD.log
  • One file per day
  • No rotation (all files are kept)
  • Format: cazalla_mythic_2025-11-17.log

🔍 Usage Examples

Search for a Specific Command

# Search for all 'whoami' executions
sudo grep -i "whoami" /var/log/cazalla.log | grep '"event_type": "TASK"'

View Operator Activity

# View all events from a user
sudo grep '"username": "mythic_admin"' /var/log/cazalla.log

View Captured Credentials

# View credential events
sudo grep '"event_type": "CREDENTIAL"' /var/log/cazalla.log

Analyze Generated Artifacts

# View all artifacts (detected IOCs)
sudo grep '"event_type": "ARTIFACT"' /var/log/cazalla.log

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Logger Doesn't Appear in Mythic GUI

Solution:

1. Verify the logger is imported in main.py
2. Rebuild the container: sudo ./mythic-cli build cazalla
3. Restart: sudo ./mythic-cli restart cazalla

Don't See "Syslog client initialized"

Solution:

1. Verify SYSLOG_SERVER has a value in syslog.conf:

   sudo docker exec cazalla cat /Mythic/logger/syslog.conf | grep SYSLOG_SERVER
   

2. Rebuild the container if you just edited the file

Messages Not Reaching Syslog

Solution:

1. Verify rsyslog is listening: sudo netstat -ulnp | grep 514
2. Verify connectivity from container to host
3. Verify rsyslog configuration: sudo cat /etc/rsyslog.d/50-cazalla.conf
4. Verify firewall: sudo iptables -L -n | grep 514

Logs Are Empty

Solution:

• Logs only appear when there's activity in Mythic
• Execute a command on an agent to generate events
• Verify the agent is connected and active

📚 Advanced Configuration

Change Syslog Facility

The syslog facility determines how messages are categorized. By default, 16 (LOCAL0) is used.

To change the facility, edit syslog.conf:

# Use AUTH (4) for security logs
SYSLOG_FACILITY=4

# Or use LOCAL1 (17)
SYSLOG_FACILITY=17

Then update the rsyslog rule to filter by the new facility.

Send to Multiple Syslog Servers

To send to multiple servers, you would need to modify the logger code or use an intermediate syslog server that forwards messages.

SIEM Integration

The JSON formatted logs can be easily integrated with SIEMs such as:

• Splunk
• ELK Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana)
• Graylog
• QRadar

Simply configure the SIEM to read from /var/log/cazalla.log or from the central syslog server.

🔗 References

• Logger Technical Documentation
• Mythic Logging Documentation
• RFC 3164 - The BSD syslog Protocol

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Note: The logging system is active by default. You only need to configure the syslog server if you want to centralize logs.