Implementing TAXII Server with OpenTAXII
Overview
TAXII (Trusted Automated eXchange of Intelligence Information) is an OASIS standard protocol for exchanging cyber threat intelligence over HTTPS. OpenTAXII is an open-source TAXII server implementation by EclecticIQ that supports TAXII 1.x, while the OASIS cti-taxii-server provides a TAXII 2.1 reference implementation. This skill covers deploying a TAXII server, configuring collections for threat intelligence feeds, publishing STIX 2.1 bundles, and integrating with SIEM/SOAR platforms for automated indicator ingestion.
When to Use
- When deploying or configuring implementing taxii server with opentaxii capabilities in your environment
- When establishing security controls aligned to compliance requirements
- When building or improving security architecture for this domain
- When conducting security assessments that require this implementation
Prerequisites
- Python 3.9+ with
medallion,stix2,taxii2-client,opentaxii,cabbylibraries - Docker and Docker Compose for containerized deployment
- Understanding of STIX 2.1 objects (Indicator, Malware, Attack Pattern, Relationship)
- Familiarity with REST APIs and HTTPS configuration
- TLS certificates for production deployment
Key Concepts
TAXII 2.1 Architecture
TAXII 2.1 defines three services: Discovery (find available API roots), API Root (entry point for collections), and Collections (repositories of CTI objects). Collections support two access models: the Collection endpoint allows consumers to poll for objects, and the Status endpoint tracks the result of add operations. TAXII uses HTTP content negotiation with application/taxii+json;version=2.1.
Sharing Models
TAXII supports hub-and-spoke (central server distributes to consumers), peer-to-peer (bidirectional sharing between partners), and source-subscriber (producer publishes, consumers subscribe) models. Each collection can have read-only, write-only, or read-write access controls.
STIX 2.1 Content
TAXII transports STIX 2.1 bundles containing Structured Threat Information objects: Indicators (detection patterns), Observed Data, Malware, Attack Patterns, Threat Actors, Intrusion Sets, Campaigns, Relationships, and Sightings. Each object has a unique STIX ID, creation/modification timestamps, and optional TLP marking definitions.
Workflow
Step 1: Deploy TAXII 2.1 Server with Medallion
# Install medallion (OASIS reference implementation)
# pip install medallion
# medallion_config.json
import json
config = {
"backend": {
"module_class": "MemoryBackend",
"filename": "taxii_data.json"
},
"users": {
"admin": "admin_password_change_me",
"analyst": "analyst_password_change_me",
"readonly": "readonly_password_change_me"
},
"taxii": {
"max_content_length": 10485760
}
}
# Create initial data store
taxii_data = {
"discovery": {
"title": "Threat Intelligence TAXII Server",
"description": "TAXII 2.1 server for sharing CTI indicators",
"contact": "soc@organization.com",
"default": "https://taxii.organization.com/api/",
"api_roots": ["https://taxii.organization.com/api/"]
},
"api_roots": {
"api": {
"title": "Threat Intelligence API Root",
"description": "Primary API root for threat intelligence sharing",
"versions": ["application/taxii+json;version=2.1"],
"max_content_length": 10485760,
"collections": {
"malware-iocs": {
"id": "91a7b528-80eb-42ed-a74d-c6fbd5a26116",
"title": "Malware IOCs",
"description": "Indicators of compromise from malware analysis",
"can_read": True,
"can_write": True,
"media_types": ["application/stix+json;version=2.1"]
},
"apt-intelligence": {
"id": "52892447-4d7e-4f70-b94a-5460e242dd23",
"title": "APT Intelligence",
"description": "Advanced persistent threat group intelligence",
"can_read": True,
"can_write": True,
"media_types": ["application/stix+json;version=2.1"]
},
"phishing-indicators": {
"id": "64993447-4d7e-4f70-b94a-5460e242ee34",
"title": "Phishing Indicators",
"description": "Phishing URLs, domains, and email indicators",
"can_read": True,
"can_write": True,
"media_types": ["application/stix+json;version=2.1"]
}
}
}
}
}
with open("medallion_config.json", "w") as f:
json.dump(config, f, indent=2)
with open("taxii_data.json", "w") as f:
json.dump(taxii_data, f, indent=2)
print("[+] TAXII server configuration created")
Step 2: Docker Deployment
# docker-compose.yml
version: '3.8'
services:
taxii-server:
image: python:3.11-slim
container_name: taxii-server
working_dir: /app
volumes:
- ./medallion_config.json:/app/medallion_config.json
- ./taxii_data.json:/app/taxii_data.json
- ./certs:/app/certs
ports:
- "6100:6100"
command: >
bash -c "pip install medallion &&
medallion --host 0.0.0.0 --port 6100
--config /app/medallion_config.json"
restart: unless-stopped
healthcheck:
test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:6100/taxii2/"]
interval: 30s
timeout: 10s
retries: 3
Step 3: Publish STIX 2.1 Objects to Collections
from stix2 import Indicator, Malware, Relationship, Bundle, TLP_WHITE
from taxii2client.v21 import Server, Collection, as_pages
import json
from datetime import datetime
class TAXIIPublisher:
def __init__(self, server_url, username, password):
self.server = Server(
server_url,
user=username,
password=password,
)
def list_collections(self):
"""List all available collections."""
api_root = self.server.api_roots[0]
for collection in api_root.collections:
print(f" [{collection.id}] {collection.title} "
f"(read={collection.can_read}, write={collection.can_write})")
return api_root.collections
def publish_indicators(self, collection_id, indicators):
"""Publish STIX indicators to a TAXII collection."""
api_root = self.server.api_roots[0]
collection = Collection(
f"{api_root.url}collections/{collection_id}/",
user=self.server._user,
password=self.server._password,
)
bundle = Bundle(objects=indicators)
response = collection.add_objects(bundle.serialize())
print(f"[+] Published {len(indicators)} objects to {collection_id}")
print(f" Status: {response.status}")
return response
def create_malware_indicators(self):
"""Create sample STIX malware indicators."""
malware = Malware(
name="SUNBURST",
description="Backdoor used in SolarWinds supply chain attack (2020). "
"Trojanized SolarWinds.Orion.Core.BusinessLayer.dll module.",
malware_types=["backdoor", "trojan"],
is_family=True,
object_marking_refs=[TLP_WHITE],
)
indicator_hash = Indicator(
name="SUNBURST SHA-256 Hash",
description="SHA-256 hash of trojanized SolarWinds Orion DLL",
pattern="[file:hashes.'SHA-256' = "
"'32519b85c0b422e4656de6e6c41878e95fd95026267daab4215ee59c107d6c77']",
pattern_type="stix",
valid_from=datetime(2020, 12, 13),
indicator_types=["malicious-activity"],
object_marking_refs=[TLP_WHITE],
)
indicator_domain = Indicator(
name="SUNBURST C2 Domain Pattern",
description="DGA domain pattern used by SUNBURST for C2",
pattern="[domain-name:value MATCHES "
"'^[a-z0-9]{4,}\\.appsync-api\\..*\\.avsvmcloud\\.com$']",
pattern_type="stix",
valid_from=datetime(2020, 12, 13),
indicator_types=["malicious-activity"],
object_marking_refs=[TLP_WHITE],
)
rel = Relationship(
relationship_type="indicates",
source_ref=indicator_hash.id,
target_ref=malware.id,
)
return [malware, indicator_hash, indicator_domain, rel]
publisher = TAXIIPublisher(
"https://taxii.organization.com/taxii2/",
"admin", "admin_password_change_me"
)
collections = publisher.list_collections()
indicators = publisher.create_malware_indicators()
publisher.publish_indicators("91a7b528-80eb-42ed-a74d-c6fbd5a26116", indicators)
Step 4: Consume Intelligence from TAXII Collections
from taxii2client.v21 import Server, Collection, as_pages
import json
class TAXIIConsumer:
def __init__(self, server_url, username, password):
self.server = Server(server_url, user=username, password=password)
def poll_collection(self, collection_id, added_after=None):
"""Poll a collection for new STIX objects."""
api_root = self.server.api_roots[0]
collection = Collection(
f"{api_root.url}collections/{collection_id}/",
user=self.server._user,
password=self.server._password,
)
kwargs = {}
if added_after:
kwargs["added_after"] = added_after
all_objects = []
for bundle in as_pages(collection.get_objects, per_request=50, **kwargs):
objects = json.loads(bundle).get("objects", [])
all_objects.extend(objects)
indicators = [o for o in all_objects if o.get("type") == "indicator"]
malware = [o for o in all_objects if o.get("type") == "malware"]
relationships = [o for o in all_objects if o.get("type") == "relationship"]
print(f"[+] Polled {len(all_objects)} objects: "
f"{len(indicators)} indicators, {len(malware)} malware, "
f"{len(relationships)} relationships")
return all_objects
def extract_iocs_for_siem(self, stix_objects):
"""Extract IOCs from STIX objects for SIEM ingestion."""
iocs = []
for obj in stix_objects:
if obj.get("type") == "indicator":
pattern = obj.get("pattern", "")
iocs.append({
"id": obj.get("id"),
"name": obj.get("name", ""),
"pattern": pattern,
"valid_from": obj.get("valid_from", ""),
"indicator_types": obj.get("indicator_types", []),
"confidence": obj.get("confidence", 0),
})
return iocs
consumer = TAXIIConsumer(
"https://taxii.organization.com/taxii2/",
"analyst", "analyst_password_change_me"
)
objects = consumer.poll_collection("91a7b528-80eb-42ed-a74d-c6fbd5a26116")
iocs = consumer.extract_iocs_for_siem(objects)
Step 5: Integrate with SIEM/SOAR
import requests
def push_to_splunk(iocs, splunk_url, hec_token):
"""Push extracted IOCs to Splunk via HEC."""
headers = {"Authorization": f"Splunk {hec_token}"}
for ioc in iocs:
event = {
"event": ioc,
"sourcetype": "stix:indicator",
"source": "taxii-server",
"index": "threat_intel",
}
resp = requests.post(
f"{splunk_url}/services/collector/event",
headers=headers,
json=event,
verify=not os.environ.get("SKIP_TLS_VERIFY", "").lower() == "true", # Set SKIP_TLS_VERIFY=true for self-signed certs in lab environments
)
if resp.status_code != 200:
print(f"[-] Splunk HEC error: {resp.text}")
print(f"[+] Pushed {len(iocs)} IOCs to Splunk")
def push_to_elasticsearch(iocs, es_url, index="threat-intel"):
"""Push IOCs to Elasticsearch."""
for ioc in iocs:
resp = requests.post(
f"{es_url}/{index}/_doc",
json=ioc,
headers={"Content-Type": "application/json"},
)
if resp.status_code not in (200, 201):
print(f"[-] ES error: {resp.text}")
print(f"[+] Indexed {len(iocs)} IOCs in Elasticsearch")
Validation Criteria
- TAXII 2.1 server deployed and accessible via HTTPS
- Collections created with appropriate read/write permissions
- STIX 2.1 bundles published successfully to collections
- Consumer can poll and retrieve objects with filtering
- IOCs extracted and forwarded to SIEM platform
- Authentication and authorization enforced correctly