Splunk

Cisco IOS XE Log Clearing Sequence With Optional Loopback Removal

Last updated 2 days ago on 2026-07-17

About

This analytic detects Cisco IOS-XE command sequences where show logging, clear logging, and exit occur within a short period. It also detects the pattern where a loopback interface is removed before clearing logs and exiting.
Platform
Splunk
Tags
Data Source: SplunkDomain: ApplicationRule Type: QueryOS: Any
Severity
medium
Risk Score
47
References
https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa25-239a(external, opens in a new tab or window)https://blog.talosintelligence.com/salt-typhoon-analysis/(external, opens in a new tab or window)
False Positives
No false positives have been identified at this time.
Source
View on GitHub(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Rule Language
SPL
Rule Type
query
text code block:
`cisco_ios` facility IN ("AAA", "HA_EM", "PARSER") mnemonic IN ("AAA_ACCOUNTING_MESSAGE", "LOG", "CFGLOG_LOGGEDCMD") message_text IN ("*show logging*", "*clear logging*", "*exit*", "*no interface Loopback*") | eval cmd=lower(coalesce(command, message_text)) | eval event_type=case( like(cmd, "%show logging%"), "show_logging", like(cmd, "%clear logging%"), "clear_logging", like(cmd, "%exit%"), "exit", like(cmd, "%no interface loopback%"), "remove_loopback" ) | where isnotnull(event_type) | eval dest=coalesce(host, dvc, dest, "unknown") | bin _time span=2m | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(event_type) as event_types values(message_text) as message_text values(cmd) as cmd by _time dest | where mvfind(event_types, "clear_logging") >= 0 AND mvfind(event_types, "exit") >= 0 AND ( mvfind(event_types, "show_logging") >= 0 OR mvfind(event_types, "remove_loopback") >= 0 ) | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `cisco_ios_xe_log_clearing_sequence_with_optional_loopback_removal_filter`

View this rule on Splunk

This rule was sourced from the official Splunk public repository. View the original rule on GitHub(external, opens in a new tab or window).