Detection: PingID New MFA Method After Credential Reset

Description

The following analytic identifies the provisioning of a new MFA device shortly after a password reset. It detects this activity by correlating Windows Event Log events for password changes (EventID 4723, 4724) with PingID logs indicating device pairing. This behavior is significant as it may indicate a social engineering attack where a threat actor impersonates a valid user to reset credentials and add a new MFA device. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow an attacker to gain persistent access to the compromised account, bypassing traditional security measures.

 1`pingid` "result.message" = "*Device Paired*" 
 2| rex field=result.message "Device (Unp)?(P)?aired (?<device_extract>.+)" 
 3| eval src = coalesce('resources{}.ipaddress','resources{}.devicemodel'), user = upper('actors{}.name'), reason = 'result.message' 
 4| eval object=CASE(ISNOTNULL('resources{}.devicemodel'),'resources{}.devicemodel',true(),device_extract) 
 5| eval action=CASE(match('result.message',"Device Paired*"),"created",match('result.message', "Device Unpaired*"),"deleted") 
 6| stats count min(_time) as firstTime, max(_time) as lastTime, values(reason) as reason by src,user,action,object 
 7| join type=outer user [
 8| search `wineventlog_security` EventID IN(4723,4724) 
 9| eval PW_Change_Time = _time, user = upper(user) 
10| fields user,src_user,EventID,PW_Change_Time] 
11| eval timeDiffRaw = round(lastTime - PW_Change_Time) 
12| eval timeDiff = replace(tostring(abs(timeDiffRaw) ,"duration"),"(\d*)\+*(\d+):(\d+):(\d+)","\2 hours \3 minutes") 
13| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
14| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
15| `security_content_ctime(PW_Change_Time)` 
16| where timeDiffRaw > 0 AND timeDiffRaw < 3600 
17| `pingid_new_mfa_method_after_credential_reset_filter`

Data Source

Name Platform Sourcetype Source Supported App
PingID N/A 'XmlWinEventLog' 'XmlWinEventLog:Security' N/A

Macros Used

Name Value
pingid source=PINGID
pingid_new_mfa_method_after_credential_reset_filter search *
pingid_new_mfa_method_after_credential_reset_filter is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Annotations

- MITRE ATT&CK
+ Kill Chain Phases
+ NIST
+ CIS
- Threat Actors
ID Technique Tactic
T1621 Multi-Factor Authentication Request Generation Credential Access
T1556.006 Multi-Factor Authentication Credential Access
T1098.005 Device Registration Defense Evasion
KillChainPhase.EXPLOITAITON
KillChainPhase.INSTALLATION
NistCategory.DE_CM
Cis18Value.CIS_10
APT29
LAPSUS$
Scattered Spider
Scattered Spider
APT29

Default Configuration

This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:

Setting Value
Disabled true
Cron Schedule 0 * * * *
Earliest Time -70m@m
Latest Time -10m@m
Schedule Window auto
Creates Notable Yes
Rule Title %name%
Rule Description %description%
Notable Event Fields user, dest
Creates Risk Event True
This configuration file applies to all detections of type TTP. These detections will use Risk Based Alerting and generate Notable Events.

Implementation

Target environment must ingest Windows Event Log and PingID(PingOne) data sources. Specifically from logs from Active Directory Domain Controllers and JSON logging from a PingID(PingOne) enterprise environment, either via Webhook or Push Subscription.

Known False Positives

False positives may be generated by normal provisioning workflows that generate a password reset followed by a device registration.

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message Risk Score Impact Confidence
An MFA configuration change was detected for [$user$] within [$timeDiff$] of a password reset. The device [$object$] was $action$. 50 100 50
The Risk Score is calculated by the following formula: Risk Score = (Impact * Confidence/100). Initial Confidence and Impact is set by the analytic author.

References

Detection Testing

Test Type Status Dataset Source Sourcetype
Validation Passing N/A N/A N/A
Unit Passing Dataset XmlWinEventLog:Security XmlWinEventLog
Integration ✅ Passing Dataset XmlWinEventLog:Security XmlWinEventLog

Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py tool or the UI. Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range


Source: GitHub | Version: 2