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Clarify alert_new_files and rule 554 defaults. #357

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atomicturtle merged 1 commit into from
Aug 4, 2026
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Clarify alert_new_files and rule 554 defaults. #357

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12 changes: 7 additions & 5 deletions docs/faq/syscheck.rst
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -100,10 +100,11 @@ Why aren't new files creating an alert?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

By default OSSEC does not alert on new files.
To enable this functionality, <alert_new_files> must be set to yes inside the <syscheck> section of the manager's ossec.conf.
Also, the rule to alert on new files (rule 554) is set to level 0 by default.
The alert level will need to be raised in order to see the alert.
Alerting on new files does not work in realtime, a full scan will be necessary to detect them.
To enable this functionality, ``<alert_new_files>`` must be set to yes inside the
``<syscheck>`` section of the **manager's** ``ossec.conf`` (agent-only config is ignored
for this option). Rule 554 already fires at level 5 when that is enabled; raise the
level with ``overwrite="yes"`` only if you want a stronger alert.
Alerting on new files does not work in realtime; a full scan is required.
See :ref:`syscheck-realtime-limits`.

Why don't permission changes alert immediately with realtime enabled?
Expand All @@ -121,7 +122,8 @@ Why does auto_ignore not suppress noisy realtime alerts?
from the realtime monitoring path are not subject to ``auto_ignore``. Use ``<ignore>`` or a
local rule for files that change frequently in realtime directories.

Add the following to local_rules.xml:
Add the following to local_rules.xml only if you want a higher alert level than the
default (5):

.. code-block:: xml

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