Self-Hosted Suricata Alert Management: Scirius vs EveBox vs Wazuh Dashboard

Suricata is one of the most widely deployed open-source intrusion detection and prevention systems, processing thousands of rules against network traffic to identify threats. But analyzing Suricata’s raw EVE JSON logs and managing rule sets at scale requires dedicated management tools. In this guide, we compare the top three platforms for managing Suricata alerts, rules, and integrations.

Why Suricata Alert Management Matters

Running Suricata without a management interface means parsing JSON logs manually, writing custom scripts to aggregate alerts, and updating rule files by hand. For production deployments monitoring hundreds of megabits of traffic, this becomes unsustainable.

A dedicated alert management platform provides three critical capabilities: real-time alert visualization with filtering and correlation, rule set management with version control and testing, and automated alert enrichment with threat intelligence feeds. Without these, security teams miss critical threats buried in noise.

For a comparison of the Suricata engine itself against competing IDS/IPS platforms, see our Suricata vs Snort vs Zeek guide. If you are building a broader network monitoring stack, our network discovery agents comparison covers complementary tools.

Scirius: Dedicated Suricata Ruleset Management

Scirius is a web application developed by Stamus Networks specifically for Suricata ruleset management and threat hunting. It provides a comprehensive interface for managing Suricata rules, viewing alerts, and coordinating threat intelligence feeds.

Key Features:

• Ruleset management with versioning, enabling/disabling, and custom rule creation
• Threat intelligence feed integration (Emerging Threats, ET Open, commercial feeds)
• Elasticsearch-based alert search and correlation
• User role management for team-based deployments
• Rule testing before deployment to production
• SELKS integration (Stamus Networks’ complete Suricata-based platform)

GitHub Stats: 676 stars, actively maintained by Stamus Networks.

Scirius Docker Compose Deployment

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version: '3.8'
services:
  elasticsearch:
    image: docker.elastic.co/elasticsearch/elasticsearch:8.12.0
    environment:
      - discovery.type=single-node
      - xpack.security.enabled=false
      - "ES_JAVA_OPTS=-Xms512m -Xmx512m"
    volumes:
      - es_data:/usr/share/elasticsearch/data
    ports:
      - "9200:9200"

  scirius:
    image: stamusnetworks/scirius:latest
    environment:
      - SURICATA_FILENAME=/etc/suricata/suricata.yaml
      - ELASTICSEARCH_URL=http://elasticsearch:9200
    volumes:
      - ./suricata:/etc/suricata
      - ./rules:/opt/scirius/rules
      - scirius_data:/opt/scirius/data
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    depends_on:
      - elasticsearch

  suricata:
    image: jasonish/suricata:latest
    volumes:
      - ./suricata:/etc/suricata
      - ./rules:/var/lib/suricata/rules
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - /proc:/host/proc:ro
    network_mode: host
    command: ["-c", "/etc/suricata/suricata.yaml", "-i", "eth0"]

volumes:
  es_data:
  scirius_data:

EveBox: Web-Based Suricata Event Viewer

EveBox is a web-based event viewer designed specifically for Suricata EVE JSON events stored in Elasticsearch. Created by Jason Ish, a core Suricata contributor, EveBox focuses on alert investigation and triage rather than rule management.

Key Features:

• Real-time alert feed with severity-based color coding
• Event grouping by source, destination, and signature
• Bookmarking and tagging of important alerts
• PCAP extraction integration for packet-level analysis
• Lightweight deployment — runs as a single binary
• Supports Elasticsearch and Suricata EVE log file input

GitHub Stats: 493 stars, maintained by a core Suricata contributor.

EveBox Docker Compose Deployment

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version: '3.8'
services:
  elasticsearch:
    image: docker.elastic.co/elasticsearch/elasticsearch:8.12.0
    environment:
      - discovery.type=single-node
      - xpack.security.enabled=false
      - "ES_JAVA_OPTS=-Xms512m -Xmx512m"
    volumes:
      - es_data:/usr/share/elasticsearch/data

  evebox:
    image: jasonish/evebox:latest
    command: ["-e", "http://elasticsearch:9200", "-D"]
    ports:
      - "5636:5636"
    depends_on:
      - elasticsearch

  suricata:
    image: jasonish/suricata:latest
    volumes:
      - ./suricata:/etc/suricata
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - /proc:/host/proc:ro
    network_mode: host
    command: ["-c", "/etc/suricata/suricata.yaml", "-i", "eth0", "--runmode", "workers"]

  logstash:
    image: docker.elastic.co/logstash/logstash:8.12.0
    volumes:
      - ./logstash.conf:/usr/share/logstash/pipeline/logstash.conf
    depends_on:
      - elasticsearch

volumes:
  es_data:

Wazuh: Unified Security Platform with Suricata Integration

Wazuh is a comprehensive open-source security platform that integrates Suricata alerts into a unified SIEM and XDR dashboard. While Scirius and EveBox focus specifically on Suricata, Wazuh provides enterprise-wide security monitoring with Suricata as one data source among many.

Key Features:

• Unified dashboard combining endpoint, network, and cloud security data
• Suricata alert ingestion and correlation with endpoint events
• Automated response playbooks and active response capabilities
• File integrity monitoring and vulnerability detection
• Compliance reporting (PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, NIST)
• Multi-tenant architecture for MSP deployments

GitHub Stats: 15,622 stars, one of the most popular open-source security platforms.

Wazuh Docker Compose Deployment

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version: '3.7'
services:
  wazuh.manager:
    image: wazuh/wazuh-manager:4.7.0
    hostname: wazuh.manager
    ports:
      - "1514:1514"
      - "1515:1515"
      - "514:514/udp"
      - "55000:55000"
    environment:
      - INDEXER_URL=https://wazuh.indexer:9200
      - INDEXER_USERNAME=admin
      - INDEXER_PASSWORD=SecretPassword
    volumes:
      - wazuh_api_configuration:/var/ossec/api/configuration
      - wazuh_etc:/var/ossec/etc
      - wazuh_logs:/var/ossec/logs
      - wazuh_queue:/var/ossec/queue
      - wazuh_var_multigroup:/var/ossec/var/multigroup
      - wazuh_integrations:/var/ossec/integrations
      - wazuh_active_response:/var/ossec/active-response/bin
      - wazuh_agentless:/var/ossec/agentless
      - wazuh_wodles:/var/ossec/wodles
      - filebeat_etc:/etc/filebeat
      - filebeat_var:/var/lib/filebeat

  wazuh.indexer:
    image: wazuh/wazuh-indexer:4.7.0
    hostname: wazuh.indexer
    ports:
      - "9200:9200"
    environment:
      - OPENSEARCH_JAVA_OPTS=-Xms512m -Xmx512m
    volumes:
      - indexer_data:/var/lib/wazuh-indexer

  wazuh.dashboard:
    image: wazuh/wazuh-dashboard:4.7.0
    hostname: wazuh.dashboard
    ports:
      - "443:5601"
    environment:
      - INDEXER_USERNAME=admin
      - INDEXER_PASSWORD=SecretPassword
      - WAZUH_API_URL=https://wazuh.manager
    depends_on:
      - wazuh.indexer
      - wazuh.manager

  suricata-agent:
    image: wazuh/wazuh-agent:4.7.0
    environment:
      - WAZUH_MANAGER=wazuh.manager
      - WAZUH_REGISTRATION_SERVER=wazuh.manager
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - /proc:/host/proc:ro
    network_mode: host

volumes:
  wazuh_api_configuration:
  wazuh_etc:
  wazuh_logs:
  wazuh_queue:
  wazuh_var_multigroup:
  wazuh_integrations:
  wazuh_active_response:
  wazuh_agentless:
  wazuh_wodles:
  filebeat_etc:
  filebeat_var:
  indexer_data:

Feature Comparison

Choosing the Right Suricata Management Tool

Choose Scirius if you are a security engineer focused on tuning Suricata rules, managing threat intelligence feeds, and coordinating rule deployments across multiple sensors. Its dedicated ruleset management interface is unmatched for Suricata-specific workflows.

Choose EveBox if you need a lightweight, quick-to-deploy alert viewer for incident investigation. EveBox excels at surfacing critical alerts from Suricata EVE logs without the overhead of a full SIEM. It is ideal for small teams or homelab deployments where simplicity matters.

Choose Wazuh if you need enterprise-wide security monitoring that goes beyond Suricata. Wazuh integrates Suricata alerts into a broader SIEM/XDR platform with endpoint detection, compliance reporting, and automated response capabilities. It is the right choice for SOC teams that need a unified view across network and endpoint security.

For network-level defenses, see our XDP/eBPF network firewall guide.

FAQ

Can Scirius manage multiple Suricata sensors?

Yes, Scirius supports multi-sensor deployments. You can configure it to manage rulesets across multiple Suricata instances, pushing updated rules to each sensor and aggregating alerts from all sensors into a single Elasticsearch cluster for centralized analysis.

Does EveBox support real-time alert streaming?

EveBox connects to Elasticsearch and provides near real-time alert viewing. When Suricata writes EVE JSON events to Elasticsearch (via Logstash or Filebeat), EveBox displays them within seconds. It does not read live packet captures — it reads stored events.

Can Wazuh replace a dedicated SIEM?

Wazuh provides core SIEM capabilities including log aggregation, alert correlation, compliance reporting, and automated response. For most organizations, it can replace a commercial SIEM. However, extremely large enterprises may still need additional log management infrastructure for petabyte-scale data.

How do I integrate Suricata with Wazuh?

Install the Wazuh agent on the same host running Suricata. Configure the Wazuh agent to monitor Suricata’s EVE JSON log file. Wazuh will parse and forward Suricata alerts to the Wazuh manager, where they appear in the dashboard alongside endpoint security events.

Is Scirius compatible with Suricata 7.x?

Scirius actively tracks Suricata releases. The latest Scirius versions support Suricata 7.x rule syntax, including new rule keywords and flowbit handling. Always check the release notes for the specific Suricata version compatibility.

Which tool has the lowest resource requirements?

EveBox has the lowest overhead — it runs as a single Go binary and only needs Elasticsearch for data storage. Scirius requires Elasticsearch plus its own application stack. Wazuh requires a full deployment with indexer, manager, and dashboard components, making it the most resource-intensive option.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I run EveBox without Elasticsearch?

No, EveBox requires Elasticsearch as its data backend. Suricata EVE JSON events must be indexed in Elasticsearch before EveBox can display them. You can use a lightweight Elasticsearch single-node setup or connect to an existing cluster.

Does Scirius provide alert notification?

Scirius focuses on rule management and alert viewing. For notifications, integrate it with external tools like email alerting through Elasticsearch watches, or use the SELKS platform which includes notification capabilities built on top of Scirius.

How does Wazuh handle Suricata false positives?

Wazuh allows you to create custom rules and decoders to filter Suricata events. You can tune the Wazuh ruleset to suppress known false positives by adding ignore conditions based on source IP, destination port, or Suricata signature ID.