Detection: Okta IDP Lifecycle Modifications

Updated Date: 2026-05-13 ID: e0be2c83-5526-4219-a14f-c3db2e763d15 Author: Bhavin Patel, Splunk Type: Anomaly Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic identifies modifications to Okta Identity Provider (IDP) lifecycle events, including creation, activation, deactivation, and deletion of IDP configurations. It uses OktaIm2 logs ingested via the Splunk Add-on for Okta Identity Cloud. Monitoring these events is crucial for maintaining the integrity and security of authentication mechanisms. Unauthorized or anomalous changes could indicate potential security breaches or misconfigurations. If confirmed malicious, attackers could manipulate authentication processes, potentially gaining unauthorized access or disrupting identity management systems.

Search

 1`okta` eventType IN ("system.idp.lifecycle.activate","system.idp.lifecycle.create","system.idp.lifecycle.delete","system.idp.lifecycle.deactivate")
 2  
 3| stats count  min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(target{}.id) as target_id values(target{}.type) as target_modified
 4    BY src dest src_user_id
 5       user user_agent command
 6       description
 7  
 8| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
 9  
10| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
11  
12| `okta_idp_lifecycle_modifications_filter`

Data Source

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

Macros Used

Name	Value
security_content_ctime	`convert timeformat="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S" ctime($field$)`
okta_idp_lifecycle_modifications_filter	`search *`

okta_idp_lifecycle_modifications_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
T1087.004	Cloud Account	Discovery

Exploitation

DE.AE

CIS 10

Scattered Spider

Storm-0501

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

It's possible for legitimate administrative actions or automated processes to trigger this detection, especially if there are bulk modifications to Okta IDP lifecycle events. Review the context of the modification, such as the user making the change and the specific lifecycle event modified, to determine if it aligns with expected behavior.

Associated Analytic Story

Suspicious Okta Activity

Intermediate Findings

Message	Entity Field	Entity Type	Risk Score
A user [$user$] is attempting IDP lifecycle modification - [$description$] from IP Address - [$src$]"	user	user	20

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: 9