Detection: Okta Multiple Failed MFA Requests For User

Updated Date: 2026-05-13 ID: 826dbaae-a1e6-4c8c-b384-d16898956e73 Author: Mauricio Velazco, Splunk Type: Anomaly Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic identifies multiple failed multi-factor authentication (MFA) requests for a single user within an Okta tenant. It triggers when more than 10 MFA attempts fail within 5 minutes, using Okta event logs to detect this pattern. This activity is significant as it may indicate an adversary attempting to bypass MFA by bombarding the user with repeated authentication requests, a technique used by threat actors like Lapsus and APT29. If confirmed malicious, this could lead to unauthorized access, potentially compromising sensitive information and systems.

Search

 1`okta` eventType=user.authentication.auth_via_mfa outcome.result=FAILURE debugContext.debugData.factor!=PASSWORD_AS_FACTOR
 2  
 3| bucket _time span=5m
 4  
 5| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(displayMessage) values(src_ip) as src_ip values(debugContext.debugData.factor) values(dest) as dest
 6    BY _time src_user
 7  
 8| where count >= 10
 9  
10| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
11  
12| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
13  
14| `okta_multiple_failed_mfa_requests_for_user_filter`

Data Source

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

Macros Used

Name	Value
okta	`eventtype=okta_log OR sourcetype = "OktaIM2:log"`
okta_multiple_failed_mfa_requests_for_user_filter	`search *`

okta_multiple_failed_mfa_requests_for_user_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

Exploitation

DE.AE

CIS 10

LAPSUS$

Scattered Spider

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)	No
Creates Intermediate Finding (Risk Event)	Yes

Anomaly detections generate Intermediate Findings (Risk Events). They do not generate a Finding (Notable) directly.

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

Multiple Failed MFA requests may also be a sign of authentication or application issues. Filter as needed and monitor for any unusual activity.

Associated Analytic Story

Intermediate Findings

Message	Entity Field	Entity Type	Risk Score
Multiple failed MFA requests for user $src_user$ from IP Address - $src_ip$	src_user	user	20

Threat Objects

Field	Type
src_ip	ip_address

References

https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1621/

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: 12