Detection: PingID Multiple Failed MFA Requests For User

Description

The following analytic identifies multiple failed multi-factor authentication (MFA) requests for a single user within a PingID environment. It triggers when 10 or more MFA prompts fail within 10 minutes, using JSON logs from PingID. This activity is significant as it may indicate an adversary attempting to bypass MFA by bombarding the user with repeated authentication requests. If confirmed malicious, this could lead to unauthorized access, as the user might eventually accept the fraudulent request, compromising the security of the account and potentially the entire network.

1`pingid` "result.status" IN ("FAILURE,authFail","UNSUCCESSFUL_ATTEMPT") 
2| eval time = _time, src = coalesce('resources{}.ipaddress','resources{}.devicemodel'), user = upper('actors{}.name'), object = 'resources{}.devicemodel', reason = 'result.message'
3| bucket span=10m _time 
4| stats dc(_raw) AS mfa_prompts min(time) as firstTime, max(time) as lastTime values(src) as src by user, reason, _time 
5| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
6| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
7| where mfa_prompts >= 10 
8| `pingid_multiple_failed_mfa_requests_for_user_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_multiple_failed_mfa_requests_for_user_filter search *
pingid_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
T1078 Valid Accounts Defense Evasion
T1110 Brute Force Initial Access
KillChainPhase.DELIVERY
KillChainPhase.EXPLOITAITON
KillChainPhase.INSTALLATION
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
APT38
APT39
DarkVishnya
Dragonfly
FIN5
Fox Kitten
HEXANE
OilRig
Turla

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 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 for user device registration.

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message Risk Score Impact Confidence
Multiple Failed MFA requests $mfa_prompts$ for user $user$ between $firstTime$ and $lastTime$. 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 PINGID _json
Integration ✅ Passing Dataset PINGID _json

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