Configure collection - Administrator Guide - Cortex XSIAM - Cortex - Security Operations

Cortex XSIAM 3.x Documentation

Product
Cortex XSIAM
Creation date
2025-07-15
Last date published
2026-06-11
Category
Administrator Guide

On the configuration page, select the relevant categories and artifacts for collection.

Configuration for collection

Note

When search fields are specified, the search is limited based on those filters. If more than one entry is in a search filter field, the search returns entries that match any of them. For example: A File Search with two specified paths ("C:\Test\*" and "C:\Windows\*") will return results from both the Test and Windows folders.

If you specify multiple search fields, the search returns entries that match all the selected criteria. For example: A File Search with one path ("C:\Test") and one size filter (">= 100MB") will return results from the Test folder that are greater than or equal to 100 megabytes.

Not all artifacts within an artifact category support the same search fields. If an artifact does not support one of the specified fields, then that filter is not applied to the search results. For example, in Windows, a Process Execution search with the search field User Name="jsmith" will filter the CidSizeMRU, LastVisitedPidlMRU, and UserAssist artifacts for that user name. That user name will not filter results from the Amcache, Prefetch, and Shimcache artifacts because those artifacts do not have a User Name field.

You can create a search query by adding any of the following artifacts available for both triage and hunt collections:

Category from Hunt Collection

Default Timeout

Artifacts collected from endpoint(s)

Note

Data collected during a Triage Collection is categorized into Artifacts, Volatiles, and File Collection

Supported Filters

Archive History (Windows only)

60 minutes

  • (Windows) 7-Zip Folder History: A registry key containing a list of archive files accessed using 7-Zip.

  • (Windows) WinRAR ArcHistory: A registry key containing a list of archive files accessed using WinRAR.

  • File Name: regular expression (case-insensitive)

    Example: [0-9A-F]{8}\.exe

  • File Path: path (wildcards ? * ** supported)

    Example: C:Windows\Temp\**\*.exe

Browser History

60 minutes

  • (Windows, macOS) Chrome

  • (Windows, macOS) Chromium-Based

  • (Windows, macOS) Firefox

  • (Windows) Edge-Anaheim

  • (Windows) Edge-Spartan

  • (Windows) Internet Explorer

  • (macOS) Quarantine

  • (macOS) Safari

  • URL: goog*.\.com

  • History File Path: path (wildcards ? * ** supported)

    Example: C:\Users\*\AppData\Local\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\*\History

Command History

60 minutes

  • (Windows) PSReadline: A record of commands typed into a PowerShell terminal by the user. The history file is enabled by default, starting with PowerShell 5 on Windows 10 or newer.

  • (macOS) Shell History: Commands recorded to the history files for Bash and Zsh shells.

  • Search Regex: regular expression (case-insensitive)

    Example: [0-9A-F]{8}\.exe

Deleted Files (Windows only)

180 minutes

  • (Windows) Recycle Bin: A Folder used by Windows as temporary storage for deleted files before permanent deletion.

  • File Name: regular expression (case-insensitive)

    Example: [0-9A-F]{8}\.exe

  • File Path: path (wildcards ? * ** supported)

    Example: C:Windows\Temp\**\*.exe

  • User Search: User SID or User Name selector.

    Example: ACME\jsmith

File Access

60 minutes

  • (Windows) Jumplists: A feature of the Windows Taskbar that provides shortcuts to users for recently accessed files or applications.

  • (Windows) OpenSavePidlMRU: A registry key containing a list of recently opened and saved files for a user’s account.

  • (Windows) Recent Files: Contents of the shortcut (.lnk) files found in a user's Recent folder. These files represent files recently accessed for a user account.

  • (Windows) ShellBags: Registry keys that record user layout preferences for each folder with which the user interacts.

  • (Windows) TypedPaths: A registry key containing a list of paths that the user typed into the Windows Explorer path bar.

  • (macOS) Recent Documents: Plist files located within a user's Library directory that contain a list of documents accessed by that user.

  • Target File Name: regular expression (case-insensitive)

    Example: [0-9A-F]{8}\.exe

  • Target File Path: path (wildcards ? * ** supported)

    Example: C:Windows\Temp\**\*.exe

  • User Search: User SID or User Name selector.

    Example: ACME\jsmith

File Search

180 minutes

  • (Windows, macOS) File Search: Search for a file across endpoints by specifying a file path that can include wildcards, and then filter those results based on the file size, the file name (supports regular expressions), or file hash (MD5, SHA1, or SHA256).

  • File Path: path (wildcards ? * ** supported)

    Example: C:Windows\Temp\**\*.exe

  • File Name: regular expression (case-insensitive)

    Example: [0-9A-F]{8}\.exe

  • File Hash: Supports MD5, SHA1, and SHA256.

    Example: f9d9b9ded9a67aa3cfdbd5002f3b524b265c4086c188e1be7c936ab25627bf01

  • Size

    Example: >= 100 MB

Log Search

180 minutes

  • (Windows) Event Log: A component of Microsoft Windows, where the user can view a record of events that occurred within a system or process.

  • (macOS) Apple Unified Logs: Predicate is a custom filter component for Apple Unified Logs.

  • Event Log Channel: Does not support wildcards.

    Example: Security

  • Event ID:

    Example: 4624

  • Providers: Does not support wildcards.

    Example: Security

  • Message: regular expression (case-insensitive)

    Example: [0-9A-F]{8}\.exe

  • Predicate: Custom filter component for Apple Unified Logs.

    Example: eventType=logEvent AND eventMessage Contains abc

Network Data

60 minutes

  • (Windows) ARP Cache: A cache of Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) records for resolved MAC and IP addresses.

  • (Windows) DNS Cache: A cache of Domain Name System (DNS) records for resolved domains and IP addresses.

  • (Windows, macOS) Hosts File: Listing of entries from the etc/hosts file.

  • (macOS) Recent Places: A plist file located within a user's Library directory that contains a list of recently accessed servers and hosts.

  • IP Address: IPv4 or IPv6 addresses.

    Example: 10.0.0.5

  • Domain: regular expression (case-insensitive)

    Example: goo.*\.com

  • Path: path (wildcards ? * ** supported)

    Example: /Volumes/VMware*

  • User Search: User SID or User Name selector.

    Example: ACME\jsmith

Persistence

60 minutes

  • (Windows) Drivers: Windows device drivers installed on each endpoint.

  • (Windows) Registry Persistence: A collection of registry keys that can be used for malware persistence.

  • (Windows) Scheduled Tasks: Tasks used to execute Windows programs or scripts at specified intervals.

  • (Windows) Services: Windows applications that run in the background and do not require user interaction.

  • (Windows) Shim Databases: Databases used by the Application Compatibility Infrastructure to apply shims to executables for backwards compatibility. These databases can be used to inject malicious code into legitimate processes and maintain persistence on an endpoint.

  • (Windows) Startup Folder: Contents of the shortcut .lnk files found in the Startup folder for both the system and users. The folders are used to launch applications during system startup or user logon.

  • (Windows) WMI Persistence: List of WMI EventConsumers and any EventFilters that are bound to them using a FilterToConsumerBinding. WMI EventConsumers can be used for fileless malware persistence.

  • (macOS) Cron: A system utility that executes programs or scripts at specified intervals.

  • (macOS) Launchd: Listing of applications and daemons configured to launch using the launchd process.

  • (macOS) Login Items: Plist files that contain applications, files, or folders configured to launch during user login.

  • Registry Path: path (wildcards ? * ** supported)

    Example: HKEY_USERS\*\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\*

  • Executable Path: path (wildcards ? * ** supported)

    Example: C:Windows\Temp\**\test.exe

  • User Search: User SID or User Name selector.

    Example: ACME\jsmith

  • SHA256: Supports SHA256 hashes.

    Example: f9d9b9ded9a67aa3cfdbd5002f3b524b265c4086c188e1be7c936ab25627bf01

  • Command: regular expression (case-insensitive)

    Example: /bin/sh /private/etc/periodic/weekly/.*

Process Execution

60 minutes

  • (Windows) Amcache: A registry hive used by the Application Compatibility Infrastructure to cache the details of executed or installed programs.

  • (Windows) Background Activity Monitor: Per-user registry keys created by Background Activity Monitor (BAM) service to store the full paths of executable files and a timestamp, indicating when they were last executed.

  • (Windows) CidSizeMRU: A registry key containing a list of recently launched applications.

  • (Windows) LastVisitedPidlMRU: A registry key containing a list of the applications and folder paths associated with recently opened files found in the user’s OpenSavePidMRU key.

  • (Windows) Prefetch: A type of file created to optimize application startup in Windows. These files contain a run count for each application, between one and eight timestamps of the most recent executions, and a record of all the files opened for a set duration after the application was started.

  • (Windows) Recentfilecache: A cache created by the Application Compatibility Infrastructure to store the details of executed or installed programs (Windows 7 only).

  • (Windows) Shimcache: A registry key used by the Application Compatibility Infrastructure to cache details about local executables.

  • (Windows) UserAssist: A registry value that records a count for each application that a user launches via the Windows UI.

  • (Windows) Windows Activities: A database containing user activity for a particular Microsoft user account, potentially across multiple devices. This is also called the Windows Timeline.

  • (macOS) CoreAnalytics: A diagnostic log that contains details of files executed on the system.

  • (macOS) Recent Applications: A plist file located within a user's Library directory that contains a list of applications opened by that user.

  • Executable File Name: regular expression (case-insensitive)

    Example: [0-9A-F]{8}\.exe

  • Executable Path: path (wildcards ? * ** supported)

    Example: C:Windows\Temp\**\test.exe

  • User Search: User SID or User Name selector.

    Example: ACME\jsmith

  • SHA256: Supports SHA256 hashes.

    Example: f9d9b9ded9a67aa3cfdbd5002f3b524b265c4086c188e1be7c936ab25627bf01

Registry Search (Windows only)

180 minutes

  • (Windows) Registry Search: Registry listings collected during Forensic investigation.

  • Path: path (wildcards ? * ** supported)

    Example: HKEY_USERS\*\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\*

  • Data: regular expression (case-insensitive)

    Example: [0-9A-F]{8}\.exe

Remote Access (Windows only)

60 minutes

  • (Windows) AnyDesk Connection Logs: Records of activity found in the AnyDesk connection logs.

  • (Windows) AnyDesk Trace Logs: Records of activity found in the AnyDesk trace logs.

  • (Windows) LogMein: Records of activity found in the LogMeIn event logs.

  • (Windows) TeamViewer: Records of incoming TeamViewer connections found in the Connections_incoming.txt file.

  • (Windows) User Access Logging: A Windows Server feature that records details about client access to the server. Only found on Windows Server 2012 and newer.

  • IP Address: IPv4 or IPv6 addresses

    Example: 10.0.0.5

  • User Search: User SID or User Name selector.

    Example: ACME\jsmith

System Statistics (Windows only)

60 - 120 minutes

  • (Windows) Application Resource Usage: A table in the System Resource Usage database that stores statistics pertaining to resource usage by running applications.

  • (Windows) Network Connectivity Usage: A table in the System Resource Usage database that stores statistics pertaining to network connections, containing the start time and duration of the connections for each network interface.

  • (Windows) Network Data Usage: A table in the System Resource Usage database that stores statistics pertaining to network data usage for running applications. Includes application path, network interface, bytes sent, and bytes received.

  • Application: path (wildcards ? * ** supported)

    Example: C:Windows\Temp\**\test.exe

  • User Search: User SID or User Name selector.

    Example: ACME\jsmith

User Searches

60 minutes

  • (Windows) WordWheelQuery: Registry key containing a list of terms that a user searched for in Windows Explorer.

  • (macOS) Spotlights Shortcuts: A plist file that contains the Spotlight search terms entered by each user and the items that they selected from the search results.

  • User Search: User SID or User Name selector.

    Example: PANW\jsmith

  • Search Regex: regular expression (case-insensitive)

    Example: [0-9A-F]{8}\.exe

Linux

Core Linux

60 minutes

Authorized Keys: Contains public keys that are permitted to log in as a specific user via SSH. Attackers can add their own keys to this file to gain persistent access to a system.

Comment: regular expression (case-sensitive)

Example: tar\cvzf.*

Known Hosts: The known_hosts file stores the public keys of SSH servers that a user has connected to. This helps to verify the server's identity and prevent man-in-the-middle attacks by alerting the user if the server's key changes.

Host: IP or hostname (regular expression)

Example: 4\.2\.2\.*, *\.google\.com

System Information: Provides fundamental hardware and system information, including manufacturer, model, UUID, and memory details. This helps identify and profile the system.

File Name: regular expression (case-sensitive)

Example: [0-9A-F]{8}

Systemd Journal:

None required

Running Processes: A detailed snapshot of running processes on the system. This includes process identifiers, user context, executable path, parent-child relationships, state, and performance metrics. It is a cornerstone artifact for live system analysis.

  • File Name: regular expression (case-sensitive)

    Example: [0-9A-F]{8}

  • Process Owner: Entries are either numeric UIDs or text usernames.

    Example: 1001

  • Path: file path

    Example: /usr/local/share/*/bin/*

Network Connections: Lists active network connections and listening ports. Essential for identifying unauthorized network communications, malware command and control (C2) channels, or unexpected listening services.

  • Local IP: IPv4 or IPv6 addresses

    Example: 10.0.0.5

  • Local Port

  • Local IP

  • Remote IP

  • Remote Port

  • Netstat Command Line

  • Netstat Process Name

  • Netstat Process Path

Firewall Rules: Firewall rules (for example, from iptables) that control network traffic. Analyzing these rules is important for understanding the network security posture and identifying potentially malicious or overly permissive configurations.

Note

Supported only for the UFW tool (Firewall managment tool for some Linux distributions such as Ubuntu)

  • Source: regular expression (case-insensitive)

    Example: [0-9A-F]{8}\.exe

  • Destination: regular expression (case-insensitive)

    Example: [0-9A-F]{8}\.exe

Kernel Modules: Lists kernel modules on the system, their state, and the associated file path. Malicious actors may use custom kernel modules (rootkits) to hide their presence or gain privileged access.

  • Module Name: regular expression (case-insensitive)

  • Module Path: path

Environment Variables: Lists environment variables for a given context (for example, a user's shell or a specific process). These variables define the execution environment and can contain important paths, configurations, or sensitive data.

  • Key: regular expression (case-sensitive)

  • Value: regular expression (case-sensitive)

Mounted Filesystems: Lists all mounted file systems, their sources (devices), types, and unique identifiers. This is useful for discovering connected storage, network shares, and understanding the file system layout.

None required

User Login & Session History: Records of user login sessions from the last command, showing who logged in, from where, and for how long. This is essential for auditing user access and investigating unauthorized logins.

User Login

Command History: Detailed records of commands from user shell history files (for example, bash_history, .zsh_history). This artifact is essential for tracking user activity and command execution.

  • Command:

  • Executed by: Entries are either numeric UIDs or text usernames.

    Example: 1001

Auditd Rules: Refers to the log data collected by the Linux Audit Daemon, which is a core component of security auditing. It records a detailed, chronological trail of system events based on a set of pre-configured rules.

  • Command:

  • Executed by: Entries are either numeric UIDs or text usernames.

    Example: 1001

  • Auditd Exe:

System-Wide Configuration: Key-value pairs parsed from various configuration files within the /etc directory, such as /etc/resolv.conf for DNS settings. This artifact helps understand the system's network and operational configuration.

Source: regular expression (case-insensitive)

Example: [0-9A-F]{8}\.exe

File Listing: A plain text file used in digital forensics to create a detailed timeline of a file system activity.

  • File Name: regular expression (case-sensitive)

    Example: [0-9A-F]{8}

  • User Id: Entries are either numeric UIDs or text usernames.

    Example: 100001

  • Group Id: Entries are either numeric GIDs or text group names.

    Example: 0, 1

Files & Processes: The artifact lists the files opened by the processes. This listing is essential for mapping a process directly to the files, loaded libraries, and network sockets it's using, which can immediately reveal hidden activities or active connections.

  • File Name: regular expression (case-sensitive)

    Example: [0-9A-F]{8}

  • User Id: Entries are either numeric UIDs or text usernames.

    Example: 100001

System Configuration Files: Shell profile files (for example, .bashrc, .profile) that contain commands and configurations executed at session startup. They are analyzed for persistence mechanisms, aliases, and malicious environment modifications.

None required

Service Status: Lists system daemons or services (for example, from systemd). Analyzing these is key to understanding which long-running processes are configured on the system and to spot malicious or unnecessary services.

  • File Name: regular expression (case-sensitive)

    Example: [0-9A-F]{8}

  • Path: file path

    Example: Example: /usr/local/share/*/bin/*

  • Command: