Detection: Okta Multi-Factor Authentication Disabled

Updated Date: 2026-05-13 ID: 7c0348ce-bdf9-45f6-8a57-c18b5976f00a Author: Mauricio Velazco, Splunk Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic identifies an attempt to disable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for an Okta user. It leverages OktaIM2 logs to detect when the 'user.mfa.factor.deactivate' command is executed. This activity is significant because disabling MFA can allow an adversary to maintain persistence within the environment using a compromised valid account. If confirmed malicious, this action could enable attackers to bypass additional security layers, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive information and prolonged undetected presence in the network.

Search

 1
 2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count max(_time) as lastTime, min(_time) as firstTime FROM datamodel=Change
 3  WHERE sourcetype="OktaIM2:log" All_Changes.object_category=User
 4    AND
 5    All_Changes.action=modified All_Changes.command=user.mfa.factor.deactivate
 6  BY All_Changes.user All_Changes.result All_Changes.command
 7     sourcetype All_Changes.src All_Changes.dest
 8
 9| `drop_dm_object_name("All_Changes")`
10
11| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
12
13| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
14
15| `okta_multi_factor_authentication_disabled_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source
Okta	Other	`'OktaIM2:log'`	`'Okta'`

Macros Used

Name	Value
security_content_summariesonly	`summariesonly=`summariesonly_config `allow_old_summaries=`oldsummaries_config `fillnull_value=`fillnull_config``
okta_multi_factor_authentication_disabled_filter	`search *`

okta_multi_factor_authentication_disabled_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
T1556.006	Multi-Factor Authentication	Credential Access

Exploitation

Installation

DE.CM

CIS 10

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 Finding (Notable)	Yes
Rule Title	`%name%`
Rule Description	`%description%`
Notable Event Fields	user, dest
Creates Intermediate Finding (Risk Event)	No

TTP detections generate a Finding (Notable) and may generate Intermediate Findings (Risk Events) for associated entities.

Implementation

The analytic leverages Okta OktaIm2 logs to be ingested using the Splunk Add-on for Okta Identity Cloud (https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/6553).

Known False Positives

Legitimate use case may require for users to disable MFA. Filter lightly and monitor for any unusual activity.

Associated Analytic Story

Finding

Title	Entity Field	Entity Type	Risk Score
MFA was disabled for User [$user$] initiated by [$src$]. Investigate further to determine if this was authorized.	user	user	50

Threat Objects

Field	Type
src	ip_address

References

Detection Testing

Test Type	Status	Dataset	Source	Sourcetype
Validation	✅ Passing	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unit	✅ Passing	Dataset	`Okta`	`OktaIM2:log`
Integration	✅ Passing	Dataset	`Okta`	`OktaIM2:log`

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: 13