Implementing SOAR Playbook with Palo Alto XSOAR

Overview

Cortex XSOAR (formerly Demisto) is Palo Alto Networks' Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response platform. Playbooks are the core automation engine in XSOAR, enabling SOC teams to automate repetitive incident response tasks. XSOAR provides 900+ prebuilt integration packs, 87 common playbooks, and a visual drag-and-drop editor for building custom workflows. Organizations using SOAR automation reduce mean time to respond (MTTR) by 80% on average.

Prerequisites

• Cortex XSOAR deployed (version 8.x or later, or XSOAR hosted)
• Administrative access for playbook creation
• Integration packs installed for relevant security tools
• Incident types and layouts configured
• API access to external tools (SIEM, EDR, TI platforms, ticketing)

Playbook Architecture

XSOAR Component Hierarchy

Incident Type (e.g., Phishing)
    |
    v
Incident Layout (UI display configuration)
    |
    v
Pre-Processing Rules (auto-classification, deduplication)
    |
    v
Playbook (automation logic)
    |-- Sub-Playbooks (modular reusable workflows)
    |-- Tasks (individual automation steps)
    |-- Conditional Tasks (decision branches)
    |-- Scripts (custom Python/JavaScript)
    |-- Integrations (external tool commands)
    |
    v
War Room (investigation timeline)
    |
    v
Closing Report

Playbook Task Types

Building a Phishing Response Playbook

Step 1: Define Incident Type

incident_type: Phishing
playbook: Phishing Investigation - Full
severity_mapping:
  - condition: email contains executable attachment
    severity: high
  - condition: email from external domain with link
    severity: medium
  - condition: email reported by user
    severity: low
layout: Phishing Layout
sla: 60 minutes

Step 2: Playbook YAML Structure

id: phishing-investigation-full
version: -1
name: Phishing Investigation - Full
description: Automated phishing email investigation with enrichment, analysis, and response
starttaskid: "0"
tasks:
  "0":
    id: "0"
    taskid: start
    type: start
    nexttasks:
      '#none#':
      - "1"
  "1":
    id: "1"
    taskid: extract-indicators
    type: regular
    task:
      name: Extract Indicators from Email
      script: ParseEmailFiles
    nexttasks:
      '#none#':
      - "2"
      - "3"
      - "4"
  "2":
    id: "2"
    taskid: enrich-urls
    type: playbook
    task:
      name: URL Enrichment
      playbookName: URL Enrichment - Generic v2
  "3":
    id: "3"
    taskid: enrich-files
    type: playbook
    task:
      name: File Enrichment
      playbookName: File Enrichment - Generic v2
  "4":
    id: "4"
    taskid: enrich-ips
    type: playbook
    task:
      name: IP Enrichment
      playbookName: IP Enrichment - Generic v2
  "5":
    id: "5"
    taskid: determine-verdict
    type: condition
    task:
      name: Is Email Malicious?
    conditions:
      - label: "yes"
        condition:
          - - operator: isEqualString
              left: DBotScore.Score
              right: "3"
      - label: "no"
    nexttasks:
      "yes":
      - "6"
      "no":
      - "9"
  "6":
    id: "6"
    taskid: block-sender
    type: regular
    task:
      name: Block Sender Domain
      script: '|||o365-mail-block-sender'
    scriptarguments:
      sender_address: ${incident.emailfrom}
  "7":
    id: "7"
    taskid: search-mailboxes
    type: regular
    task:
      name: Search and Delete from All Mailboxes
      script: '|||o365-mail-purge-compliance-search'
    scriptarguments:
      query: "from:${incident.emailfrom} subject:${incident.emailsubject}"
  "8":
    id: "8"
    taskid: notify-user
    type: regular
    task:
      name: Notify Reporting User
      script: '|||send-mail'
    scriptarguments:
      to: ${incident.reporter}
      subject: "Phishing Report Confirmed - Action Taken"
      body: "The email you reported has been confirmed as malicious and removed."
  "9":
    id: "9"
    taskid: close-incident
    type: regular
    task:
      name: Close Incident
      script: closeInvestigation

Step 3: Integration Commands

Email Analysis

!ParseEmailFiles entryid=${File.EntryID}
!rasterize url=${URL.Data} type=png

Threat Intelligence Enrichment

!url url=${URL.Data}
!file file=${File.SHA256}
!ip ip=${IP.Address}
!domain domain=${Domain.Name}

Containment Actions

!o365-mail-block-sender sender=${incident.emailfrom}
!o365-mail-purge-compliance-search query="from:${incident.emailfrom}"
!pan-os-block-ip ip=${IP.Address} log_forwarding="default"
!cortex-xdr-isolate-endpoint endpoint_id=${Endpoint.ID}

Ticketing Integration

!jira-create-issue summary="Phishing Incident - ${incident.id}" type="Incident" priority="High"
!servicenow-create-ticket short_description="Security Incident" urgency="2"

Common SOC Playbook Templates

1. Malware Investigation Playbook

Trigger: Malware alert from EDR
Steps:
  1. Extract file hash, process details, host info
  2. Enrich hash via VirusTotal, Hybrid Analysis
  3. Check if file is on allowlist
  4. If malicious:
     a. Isolate endpoint via EDR
     b. Block hash on all endpoints
     c. Search for hash across environment
     d. Create incident ticket
  5. If clean: Close as false positive

2. Account Compromise Playbook

Trigger: Impossible travel or suspicious login alert
Steps:
  1. Get user details from Active Directory
  2. Get login history for past 30 days
  3. Check for impossible travel (geo-distance vs time)
  4. Check for known VPN/proxy IP
  5. If compromised:
     a. Disable AD account
     b. Revoke all OAuth tokens
     c. Reset MFA
     d. Notify user's manager
     e. Search for lateral movement
  6. If false positive: Document and close

3. DDoS Mitigation Playbook

Trigger: Network anomaly alert
Steps:
  1. Verify traffic spike from network monitoring
  2. Identify source IPs and geolocation
  3. Check if source IPs are known botnets
  4. Implement rate limiting on WAF
  5. If sustained attack:
     a. Enable upstream DDoS protection
     b. Activate CDN scrubbing
     c. Notify ISP if needed
  6. Monitor and document

Custom XSOAR Scripts

Python Automation Script Example

# XSOAR Automation Script: CalculateRiskScore
def calculate_risk_score():
    """Calculate composite risk score for an incident."""
    severity = demisto.incident().get('severity', 0)
    indicator_count = len(demisto.get(demisto.context(), 'DBotScore', []))
    malicious_count = len([
        i for i in demisto.get(demisto.context(), 'DBotScore', [])
        if i.get('Score', 0) == 3
    ])

    base_score = severity * 20
    indicator_boost = min(indicator_count * 5, 25)
    malicious_boost = malicious_count * 15

    risk_score = min(100, base_score + indicator_boost + malicious_boost)

    return_results(CommandResults(
        outputs_prefix='RiskScore',
        outputs={'Score': risk_score, 'Level': 'Critical' if risk_score > 80 else 'High' if risk_score > 60 else 'Medium'},
        readable_output=f'Risk Score: {risk_score}/100'
    ))

calculate_risk_score()

Playbook Performance Metrics

References

• Cortex XSOAR Playbooks Overview
• From Zero to Process to XSOAR Playbook
• XSOAR Common Playbooks Pack
• Cortex XSOAR Product Page