Learn more about the Alerts page in Cortex XDR.
The Alerts page displays a table of all alerts in Cortex XDR.
The Alerts page consolidates non-informational alerts from your detection sources to enable you to efficiently and effectively triage the events you see each day. By analyzing the alert, you can better understand the cause of what happened and the full story with context to validate whether an alert requires additional action. Cortex XDR supports saving 2M alerts per 4000 agents or 20 terabytes, half of the alerts are allocated for informational alerts and half for severity alerts.
You can view detailed information for an alert in the Alert Panel, Causality View .
By default, the Alerts page displays the alerts received over the last seven days. Every 12 hours, Cortex XDR enforces a cleanup policy to remove the oldest alerts that exceed the maximum alerts limit.
Cortex XDR processes and displays the name of users in the following standardized format, also termed “normalized user”.
<company domain>\<username>
As a result, any alert triggered based on network, authentication, or login events displays the User Name in the standardized format in the Alerts and Incidents pages. This impacts every alert for Cortex XDR Analytics and Cortex XDR Analytics BIOC, including BIOC, and IOC alerts triggered on one of these event types.
The following table describes both the default fields and additional optional fields that you can add to the alerts table using the column manager and lists the fields in alphabetical order.
Field | Description | |
|---|---|---|
Status Indicator (
) | Identifies whether there is enough endpoint data to analyze an alert. | |
| Check box to select one or more alerts on which to perform actions. Select multiple alerts to assign all selected alerts to an analyst, or to change the status or severity of all selected alerts. | |
ACTION | Action taken by the alert sensor, either
| |
AGENT OS SUB TYPE | The operating system subtype of the agent from which the alert was triggered. | |
ALERT ID | A unique identifier that Cortex XDR assigns to each alert. | |
ALERT NAME | Module that triggered the alert. Alerts that match an alert starring policy also display a purple star. | |
ALERT SOURCE | Source of the alert: XDR Agent. | |
APP-ID | Related App-ID for an alert. App-ID is a traffic classification system that determines what an application is irrespective of port, protocol, encryption (SSH or SSL) or any other evasive tactic used by the application. When known, you can also pivot to the Palo Alto Networks Applipedia entry that describes the detected application. | |
APP CATEGORY | APP-ID category name associated with a firewall alert. | |
APP SUBCATEGORY | APP-ID subcategory name associated with a firewall alert. | |
APP TECHNOLOGY | APP-ID technology name associated with a firewall alert. | |
CATEGORY | Alert category based on the alert source. An example of an XDR Agent alert category is Exploit Modules. | |
CGO CMD | Command-line arguments of the Causality Group Owner. | |
CGO MD5 | The MD5 value of the CGO that initiated the alert. | |
CGO NAME | The name of the process that started the causality chain is based on Cortex XDR causality logic. | |
CGO SHA256 | The SHA256 value of the CGO that initiated the alert. | |
CGO SIGNATURE | Signing status of the CGO:
| |
CGO SIGNER | The name of the software publishing vendor that signed the file in the causality chain that led up to the alert. NoteCortex XDR can display both the O (Organization) value and the CN (Common Name). | |
CLOUD IDENTITY TYPE | Classification is used to map the identity type that initiated an operation that triggered an alert. For example, | |
CLOUD IDENTITY SUB-TYPE | A more specific classification of the identity initiated the operation. For example, for Identity Type: | |
CLOUD OPERATION TYPE | Represents what has happened because of the identity operation. For example, | |
CLOUD PROJECT | Represents the cloud provider folders or projects. For example, AWS Accounts and Azure Subscriptions. | |
CLOUD PROVIDER | The name of the cloud provider where the alert occurred:
| |
CLOUD REFERENCED RESOURCE | Represents the resources that are referenced in the alert log. In most cases, the referred resource will be where the operation was initiated on. | |
CLOUD RESOURCE TYPE | Classifications are used to map similar types of resources across different cloud providers. For example, | |
CLOUD RESOURCE SUB-TYPE | A more specific classification is used to map the types of resources. For example, | |
CONTAINS FEATURED HOST | Displays whether the alert includes a host name that has been flagged as a Featured Alert Field. | |
CONTAINS FEATURED USER | Displays whether the alert includes a user name that has been flagged as a Featured Alert Field. | |
CONTAINS FEATURED IP ADDRESS | Displays whether the alert includes an IP address name that has been flagged as a Featured Alert Field. | |
CID | Unique identifier of the causality instance generated by Cortex XDR . | |
DESCRIPTION | Text summary of the event including the alert source, alert name, severity, and file path. | |
DESTINATION ZONE NAME | The destination zone of the connection for firewall alerts. | |
DNS Query Name | The domain name is queried in the DNS request. | |
DOMAIN | The domain on which an alert was triggered. | |
EMAIL RECIPIENT | The email recipient value of a firewall alerts triggered on the content of a malicious email. | |
EMAIL SENDER | The email sender value of a firewall alerts triggered on the content of a malicious email. | |
EMAIL SUBJECT | The email subject value of a firewall alerts triggered on the content of a malicious email. | |
EVENT TYPE | The type of event on which the alert was triggered:
| |
EXCLUDED | Whether the alert is excluded by an exclusion configuration. | |
EXTERNAL ID | The alert ID as recorded in the detector from which this alert was sent. | |
FILE PATH | When the alert is triggered on a file (the Event Type is File) this is the path to the file on the endpoint. If not, then N/A. | |
FILE MACRO SHA256 | SHA256 hash value of a Microsoft Office file macro | |
FILE MD5 | MD5 hash value of the file. | |
FILE SHA256 | SHA256 hash value of the file. | |
FW NAME | Name of firewall on which a firewall alert was raised. | |
FW RULE ID | The firewall rule ID that triggered the firewall alert. | |
FW RULE NAME | The firewall rule name that matches the network traffic that triggered the firewall alert. | |
FW SERIAL NUMBER | The serial number of the firewall that raised the firewall alert. | |
HOST | The hostname of the endpoint or server on which this alert was triggered. The hostname is generally available for XDR agent alerts or alerts that are stitched with EDR data. When the hostname is unknown, this field is blank. | |
HOST FQDN | The fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the Windows endpoint or server on which this alert was triggered. | |
HOST IP | IP address of the endpoint or server on which this alert was triggered. | |
HOST IPv6 | IPv6 address of the endpoint or server on which this alert was triggered. | |
HOST MAC ADDRESS | MAC address of the endpoint or server on which this alert was triggered. | |
HOST OS | Operating system of the endpoint or server on which this alert was triggered. | |
INCIDENT ID | The ID of any incident that includes the alert. | |
INITIATED BY | The name of the process that initiated an activity such as a network connection or registry change. | |
INITIATOR MD5 | The MD5 value of the process which initiated the alert. | |
INITIATOR SHA256 | The SHA256 hash value of the initiator. | |
INITIATOR CMD | Command-line used to initiate the process including any arguments. | |
INITIATOR SIGNATURE | Signing status of the process that initiated the activity:
| |
INITIATOR PATH | Path of the initiating process. | |
INITIATOR PID | Process ID (PID) of the initiating process. | |
INITIATOR SIGNER | Signer of the process that triggered the alert. NoteCortex XDR can display both the O (Organization) value and the CN (Common Name). | |
INITIATOR TID | Thread ID (TID) of the initiating process. | |
IS PHISHING | Indicates whether a firewall alert is classified as phishing. | |
LOCAL IP | If the alert is triggered on network activity (the Event Type is Network Connection) this is the IP address of the host that triggered the alert. If not, then N/A. | |
LOCAL PORT | If the alert is triggered on network activity (the Event Type is Network Connection) this is the port on the endpoint that triggered the alert. If not, then N/A. | |
MAC ADDRESS | The MAC address on which the alert was triggered. | |
MISC | Miscellaneous information about the alert. | |
MITRE ATT&CK TACTIC | Displays the type of MITRE ATT&CK tactic on which the alert was triggered. | |
MITRE ATT&CK TECHNIQUE | Displays the type of MITRE ATT&CK technique and sub‑technique on which the alert was triggered. | |
MODULE | For XDR Agent alerts, this field identifies the protection module that triggered the alert. | |
NGFW VSYS NAME | Name of the virtual system for the Palo Alto Networks firewall that triggered an alert. | |
OS PARENT CREATED BY | Name of the parent operating system that created the alert. | |
OS PARENT CMD | Command line used by the parent operating system to initiate the process including any arguments. | |
OS PARENT SIGNATURE | Signing status of the operating system of the activity:
| |
OS PARENT SIGNER | Parent operating system signer. NoteCortex XDR can display both the O (Organization) value and the CN (Common Name). | |
OS PARENT SH256 | Parent operating system SHA256 hash value. | |
OS PARENT ID | Parent operating system ID. | |
OS PARENT PID | OS parent process ID. | |
OS PARENT TID | OS parent thread ID. | |
OS PARENT USER NAME | Name of the user associated with the parent operating system. | |
PHONE NUMBER | Shows the phone number that triggered the alert. This is the number that sent a malicious URL/spam or was blocked. | |
PROCESS EXECUTION SIGNATURE | Signature status of the process that triggered the alert:
| |
PROCESS EXECUTION SIGNER | Signer of the process that triggered the alert. NoteCortex XDR can display both the O (Organization) value and the CN (Common Name). | |
REGISTRY DATA | If the alert is triggered on registry modifications (the Event Type is Registry) this is the registry data that triggered the alert. If not, then N/A. | |
REGISTRY FULL KEY | If the alert is triggered on registry modifications (the Event Type is Registry) this is the full registry key that triggered the alert. If not, then N/A. | |
REMOTE HOST | If the alert is triggered on network activity (the Event Type is Network Connection) this is the remote host name that triggered the alert. If not, then N/A. | |
REMOTE IP | The remote IP address of a network operation that triggered the alert. | |
REMOTE PORT | The remote port of a network operation that triggered the alert. | |
RESOLUTION STATUS | The status that was assigned to this alert when it was triggered (or modified): New, Under Investigation, Resolved. Right-click an alert to Change Status. If you set the status to Resolved, select a resolution reason, for more information see Resolution Reasons for Incidents and Alerts. Any update made to an alert impacts the associated incident. An incident with all its associated alerts marked as resolved is automatically set to Auto-Resolved. Cortex XDR continues to group Alerts to an Auto-Resolved Incident for up to 6 hours. In the case where an alert is triggered during this duration, Cortex XDR re-opens the Incident. | |
RULE ID | The ID that matches the rule that triggered the alert. | |
SEVERITY | The severity that was assigned to this alert when it was triggered (or modified): Informational, Low, Medium, High, Critical, or Unknown. Right-click an alert to Change Severity. | |
STARRED | Whether the alert is starred by starring configuration. | |
SOURCE ZONE NAME | The source zone name of the connection for firewall alerts. | |
TAGS | Displays one or more of the following categories, which is used to filter the results according to the selected tag:
| |
TARGET FILE SHA256 | The SHA256 hash value of an external DLL file that triggered the alert. | |
TARGET PROCESS CMD | The command line of the process whose creation triggered the alert. | |
TARGET PROCESS NAME | The name of the process whose creation triggered the alert. | |
TARGET PROCESS SHA256 | The SHA256 value of the process whose creation triggered the alert. | |
TIMESTAMP | The date and time when the alert was triggered. Right-click to Show rows 30 days prior or 30 days after the selected timestamp field value. | |
URL | The URL destination address of the domain triggering the firewall alert. | |
USER NAME | The name of the user that initiated the behavior that triggered the alert. If the user is a domain user account, this field also identifies the domain. Any alert triggered based on network, authentication, or login events, displays the User Name in the follow standardized format in the Alerts and Incidents pages.
| |
XFF | X-Forwarded-For value from the HTTP header of the IP address connecting with a proxy. |
