Missing Fields in Teleport VPN Logs: Why the Remote IP Matters

TL;DR: UniFi Teleport VPN logs (in CEF format) are missing the client's remote IP address—the WireGuard endpoint—which is critical for threat detection, auditing, and correlation in SIEM tools. Although this IP is available in other events, it isn't included in the CEF event. Adding a field like UNIFIvpnClientRemoteIp would significantly improve log completeness and security monitoring value.

When a Teleport VPN connection is made through a UniFi device, three IP addresses are involved:

  1. The remote IP of the Teleport client (the WireGuard endpoint)
  2. The WAN IP of the UniFi device
  3. The internal IP assigned to the Teleport client

The CEF log that's generated captures a good deal of useful information, including the internal client IP, VPN type, and WAN interface. But one important piece is missing: the remote IP address of the Teleport client.

Here's an example CEF event for a VPN connection:

CEF:0|Ubiquiti|UniFi Network|9.3.45|522|Teleport Client Connected|1|UNIFIcategory=System UNIFIsubCategory=VPN UNIFIhost=example UNIFIsite=example UNIFIwanId=WAN1 suser=DeviceName UNIFIclientIp=192.168.3.6 UNIFIvpnName=Teleport UNIFIvpnType=wireguard-teleport-server UNIFIvpnServerAddress=1.2.3.4 UNIFIvpnSubnet=192.168.3.1/24 msg= DeviceName has connected to the Teleport VPN. Source IP: 192.168.3.6

What's missing here is the peer endpoint IP address—essentially, the client's public IP. That information is available on the device, and is even logged locally just prior to the CEF event:

/usr/bin/teleportd[4306]: [peer 192.168.3.6]: wireguard endpoint: 172.16.1.101:61031

That 172.16.1.101 is the remote client's IP. Without it, it's impossible to tell where the VPN connection originated from, which is a crucial data point for:

  • Security monitoring
  • Threat detection and correlation
  • Investigating unusual connections
  • General auditing

🛠 Feature Request

Please consider adding this remote IP (the Teleport endpoint) to the CEF event. For example:

UNIFIvpnClientRemoteIp=172.16.1.101

This one field would dramatically increase the usefulness of Teleport VPN logs in any serious observability or SIEM environment.

📘 Why This Matters

CEF is meant to be a structured, machine-readable format. Missing fields like this one reduce its value. If UniFi is going to be used in SMB and prosumer networks for security-conscious deployments, then log completeness matters—especially when it comes to VPNs.

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