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Last updated by: rspoerl1, Last updated on: 26/08/2025

Wazuh Docker Container and Web Container Runtime Monitoring

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Document Creation: 05 May, 2025. Last Edited: 05 May, 2025. Authors: Bikendra Gurung.
Effective Date: 05 May, 2025. Expiry Date: 05 May, 2026.

Overview​

This technical guide provides detailed step-by-step instructions on how to configure Wazuh to monitor Docker container lifecycle events and runtime web container logs on a Docker host. In addition, it enables detection of container activity and potential web-based attacks, enhancing overall visibility and incident response capabilities.

Prerequisites​

  1. A Wazuh agent installed on the Docker host.
  2. Docker installed on the host system.
  3. Admin/Root access to the Wazuh Docker host (Linux server).
  4. Familiarity with docker, docker-compose, and basic Linux operations.

Step 1: Install Docker Python Library​

Install the required Python library and dependencies to allow Wazuh to interface with Docker:

sudo su
cd ~
apt-get update && apt-get install python3
pip3 install docker==7.1.0 urllib3==2.2.2 requests==2.32.2

Install Docker Python Library

Step 2: Configure Wazuh Agent for Docker Listener​

2.1. Enable Docker Listener in Wazuh Agent​

Edit the agent configuration file:

vim /var/ossec/etc/ossec.conf

Add the following block:

<wodle name="docker-listener">
  <interval>10m</interval>
  <attempts>5</attempts>
  <run_on_start>no</run_on_start>
  <disabled>no</disabled>
</wodle>

Note:
• This enables the Wazuh Docker wodle to collect Docker container metadata and activity events.
• The listener attempts to execute five times at ten-minute intervals if it fails.

Config Wazuh Agent 1 Config Wazuh Agent 2

2.2. Restart Wazuh Agent​

systemctl restart wazuh-agent

Restart Wazuh Agent

Step 3: Test Container Lifecycle Events​

3.1. Simulate typical container activity to verify detection:​

# 1. Start a container
docker run -d --name test-container httpd

# 2. Pause the container
docker pause test-container

# 3. Resume the container
docker unpause test-container

# 4. Stop the container
docker stop test-container

# 5. Remove the container
docker rm test-container

# 6. Remove the image
docker rmi httpd

Run Use Cases

3.2. Observe the corresponding event logs​

Real-time Logs

Step 4: Configure Web Container Runtime Log Monitoring​

Configure the Wazuh agent on the Docker server to forward all container runtime logs to the Wazuh server.

4.1. Modify Wazuh Agent Config​

vim /var/ossec/etc/ossec.conf

Wazuh Agent Monitoring 1

4.2. Add Configuration Block​

Add the configuration block below to monitor container logs

<localfile>
  <log_format>syslog</log_format>
  <location>/var/lib/docker/containers/*/*-json.log</location>
</localfile>

Wazuh Agent Monitoring 2

Note:
• Wildcards * are used so Wazuh can monitor dynamically named container log paths.
• The typical pattern is /var/lib/docker/containers/<CONTAINER_ID>/<CONTAINER_ID>-json.log.

4.3. Restart the Agent​

systemctl restart wazuh-agent

Wazuh Agent Monitoring 3

Step 5: Configure Wazuh Server Decoders​

5.1. Edit Local Decoder File​

vim /var/ossec/etc/decoders/local_decoder.xml

Wazuh Server Config 1

5.2. Add Decoders​

Add the following decoders:

<decoder name="web-accesslog-docker">
  <parent>json</parent>
  <type>web-log</type>
  <use_own_name>true</use_own_name>
  <prematch offset="after_parent">^log":"\S+ \S+ \S+ \.*[\S+ \S\d+] \.*"\w+ \S+ HTTP\S+" \d+</prematch>
  <regex offset="after_parent">^log":"(\S+) \S+ \S+ \.*[\S+ \S\d+] \.*"(\w+) (\S+) HTTP\S+" (\d+)</regex>
  <order>srcip,protocol,url,id</order>
</decoder>

<decoder name="json">
  <parent>json</parent>
  <use_own_name>true</use_own_name>
  <plugin_decoder>JSON_Decoder</plugin_decoder>
</decoder>

Wazuh Server Config 2

5.3. Restart the Wazuh Manager​

docker restart single-node-wazuh.manager-1

Restart Wazuh Manager

Step 6: Simulate Web Attacks in Containers​

6.1. Run a web container and simulate a SQLi attack to generate attack-like logs​

# 1. Create a web container called test-container
docker run --name test-container -p 8082:80 -d nginx

# 2. Normal access – check that the web container is running and accessible by sending a request.
curl http://redback.it.deakin.edu.au:8082

# 3. Simulate a SQL injection attempt by sending a crafted request.
curl -XGET "http://redback.it.deakin.edu.au:8082/users/?id=SELECT+*+FROM+users"

Note: If an alert isn’t triggered immediately, wait briefly and repeat the SQLi request.

Simulate Attack 1

6.2. Observe the corresponding event logs in the Wazuh Dashboard.​

Simulate Attack Logs 1 Simulate Attack Logs 2 Simulate Attack Logs 3 Simulate Attack Logs 4

Notes​

  • Ensure container logging drivers are set to json-file (default).
  • Docker logs must be readable by the Wazuh agent.
  • Alerts will appear in the Wazuh Dashboard tagged under web, accesslog, attack, and/or sql_injection for web access logs, and docker for container lifecycle events.

References​