Detection: Azure AD Multiple Failed MFA Requests For User

Updated Date: 2024-09-24 ID: 264ea131-ab1f-41b8-90e0-33ad1a1888ea Author: Mauricio Velazco, Gowthamaraj Rajendran, Splunk Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic identifies multiple failed multi-factor authentication (MFA) requests for a single user within an Azure AD tenant. It leverages Azure AD Sign-in Logs, specifically error code 500121, to detect more than 10 failed MFA attempts within 10 minutes. This behavior is significant as it may indicate an adversary attempting to bypass MFA by bombarding the user with repeated authentication prompts. If confirmed malicious, this activity could lead to unauthorized access, allowing attackers to compromise user accounts and potentially escalate their privileges within the environment.

Search

1`azure_monitor_aad` category=SignInLogs operationName="Sign-in activity" properties.status.errorCode=500121 properties.status.additionalDetails!="MFA denied; user declined the authentication" 
2| rename properties.* as * 
3| bucket span=10m _time 
4| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by user, status.additionalDetails, appDisplayName, user_agent 
5| where count > 10 
6| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
7| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
8| `azure_ad_multiple_failed_mfa_requests_for_user_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source	Supported App
Azure Active Directory Sign-in activity	Azure	`'azure:monitor:aad'`	`'Azure AD'`	N/A

Macros Used

Name	Value
azure_monitor_aad	`sourcetype=azure:monitor:aad`
azure_ad_multiple_failed_mfa_requests_for_user_filter	`search *`

azure_ad_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
T1586	Compromise Accounts	Resource Development
T1586.003	Cloud Accounts	Resource Development
T1621	Multi-Factor Authentication Request Generation	Credential Access
T1078	Valid Accounts	Defense Evasion
T1078.004	Cloud Accounts	Initial Access

KillChainPhase.DELIVERY

KillChainPhase.EXPLOITAITON

KillChainPhase.INSTALLATION

KillChainPhase.WEAPONIZATION

NistCategory.DE_CM

Cis18Value.CIS_10

APT29

LAPSUS$

Scattered Spider

APT18

APT28

APT29

APT33

APT39

APT41

Akira

Axiom

Carbanak

Chimera

Cinnamon Tempest

Dragonfly

FIN10

FIN4

FIN5

FIN6

FIN7

FIN8

Fox Kitten

GALLIUM

Ke3chang

LAPSUS$

Lazarus Group

Leviathan

OilRig

POLONIUM

PittyTiger

Sandworm Team

Silence

Silent Librarian

Suckfly

Threat Group-3390

Wizard Spider

menuPass

APT28

APT29

APT33

APT5

Ke3chang

LAPSUS$

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

You must install the latest version of Splunk Add-on for Microsoft Cloud Services from Splunkbase (https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/3110/#/details). You must be ingesting Azure Active Directory events into your Splunk environment through an EventHub. This analytic was written to be used with the azure:monitor:aad sourcetype leveraging the Signin log category.

Known False Positives

Multiple Failed MFA requests may also be a sign of authentication or application issues. Filter as needed.

Associated Analytic Story

Azure Active Directory Account Takeover

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message	Risk Score	Impact	Confidence
User $user$ failed to complete MFA authentication more than 9 times in a timespan of 10 minutes.	54	60	90

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	`Azure AD`	`azure:monitor:aad`
Integration	✅ Passing	Dataset	`Azure AD`	`azure:monitor:aad`

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: 5